Nîmes,France – Gisele Pelicot is set to testify Wednesday as the appeal trial of Husamettin Dogan,one of 51 men convicted in connection with a case involving orchestrated sexual assaults,begins in Nîmes,France. The original trial, concluding in December, revealed Pelicot was the target of a scheme allegedly masterminded by her ex-husband, Dominique Pelicot, who recruited men-many strangers-to sexually assault her while she was incapacitated by drugs.
Dogan, a 44-year-old construction worker, was sentenced to nine years in prison in December, though the sentence was postponed due to health concerns. He is appealing the conviction, maintaining his innocence. “I’m not a rapist,” Dogan stated during the initial trial. “It’s too much for me to endure. She is her husband. I never thought that that man could do this to his wife.”
His lawyer, Jean-Marc Darrigade, told French Press (FP) that dogan believes he was “trapped” by Dominique Pelicot, asserting, “His real opponent is not Gisele Pelicot, who deeply respects, but the man who was his husband.”
Dominique Pelicot, currently in isolation in prison, will appear in court Tuesday for questioning. Gisele Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus, stated to FP that while she would prefer to avoid reliving the trauma, she “understands the attention paid to his case, that, beyond his person, he has a universal meaning.”
The appeal trial is expected to last four days.
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