Nรฎmes,France – Gisele Pelicot is set to testifyโ Wednesday as the appeal trial of Husamettin Dogan,one of 51 men convicted in connection with a case involving orchestrated sexual assaults,begins in Nรฎmes,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, โฃwas sentenced to nine years inโ prison in December, though the sentence โคwas postponed due to health concerns. Heโข is appealing the conviction, maintaining his innocence.โ “I’m notโฃ a rapist,” โคDogan stated during the initial trial. “It’s too โคmuch 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, toldโ French Press (FP) that dogan believes he wasโค “trapped” by โDominique Pelicot, asserting, “His โคreal opponentโ is not Gisele Pelicot, who deeplyโ respects,โ but the man who was his husband.”
Dominiqueโฃ Pelicot, currently in isolation in prison, will appear in court Tuesday for questioning. Gisele Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine โคCamus, โstated to FP that while she would โขprefer to avoid reliving theโ trauma, she “understands the attention paid to his case, that, beyond โhis person, he has a universal meaning.”
The appeal trial is expected to last four days.
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