🔗 Share this article French Appeal Tribunal Increases Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to a decade. Appeal Trial Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019. The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep. We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.” Background The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union. Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years. The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”. Testimony and Proof The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed. Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.” The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been permissible. The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission. Defendant's Statements The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.” Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.” Victim's Response The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.” Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” State's Argument The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.” Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.” Defendant's Background Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness. He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.