Gisele Pelicot will return to French court again on Oct 6: Here's why

Gisele Pelicot will return to court on Monday (Oct 6), this time in Nîmes. When she appeared in the courtroom in Avignon in September 2024, she was just a name. After a year, she is the symbol of courage and resilience. Out of the men convicted and sentenced in the rape case, only one has challenged the sentence. His name is Husamettin Dogan. After a trial lasting for 16 weeks, Gisele Pelicot will attend the proceedings of the appeal by Dogan as witness even though she is not obliged to.

Gisele Pelicot rape trial

In the biggest rape trial in France, Gisèle Pelicot become a symbol of female courage and resilience when a French court found her husband Dominique Pelicot guilty of repeatedly drugging and raping her for almost a decade, and inviting dozens of strangers to rape her unconscious body. While the case horrified the world, Gisele stood rock solid, determined for justice and she sat in the courtroom as her husband was sentenced to maximum 20 years in jail. Dominique's 50 co-defendants were also found guilty of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault. The court found 46 of the other defendants guilty of rape, two guilty of attempted rape and two guilty of sexual assault, handing down sentences of between three and 15 years in jail.

Many of the accused had denied the charges, saying they thought it was a consensual sex game orchestrated by the couple and arguing that it was not rape if the husband approved. However, Dominique Pelicot denied misleading the men,saying they knew exactly what they were doing. "I am a rapist like the others in this room," he said during testimony.

"This trial was a very difficult ordealI now have confidence in our ability to collectively seize a future in which each woman and man can live in harmony with respect and mutual understanding. I thank you," she said in her first comments at the end of the sentencing.