🔗 Share this article French Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to ten years. Retrial Proceedings Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal. A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019. The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state. We trust the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.” Background The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union. Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years. The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”. Courtroom Details Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed. Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.” The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable. The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented. Accused's Testimony Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.” Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.” Survivor's Statement Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.” Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.” Prosecutor's Remarks Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your situation.” Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.” The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.” Personal History The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused. He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.