🔗 Share this article French Higher Court Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years. Appeal Trial Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019. The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep. We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.” Background The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union. Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years. The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”. Testimony and Proof The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated. Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.” The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented. Accused's Testimony Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.” Victim's Response The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.” The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” Prosecutor's Remarks Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your situation.” Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.” The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.” Biographical Details The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness. He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.