(18 Dec 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Avignon, France – 18 December 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) John Leicester, the Associated Press: ++PARTLY OVERLAID WITH SHOTS 2-7++
"In this courthouse here in Avignon, southern France, judges are preparing to deliver hugely anticipated verdicts in what has been an appalling, historic and mammoth trial. Since September, 51 men have been answering charges that they participated in aggravated rapes and sexual assaults inflicted on 72-year-old grandmother, Gisèle Pélicot, while she was drugged and knocked unconscious by her now ex-husband. The hearings have been exceptional in almost every way. Most of all because of Gisèle Pélicot herself. Her astounding courage in the face of this ordeal has turned her into a feminist hero and an icon in the global fight against sexual violence. She fought for the case to be tried in open court, including horrific videos of the abuse, filmed and meticulously catalogued by her husband for 50 years, Dominique Pélicot. Prosecutors asked that he be handed the maximum sentence, 20 years, for the aggravated rapes that he admitted to. But beyond stiff punishments for him and for his 50 alleged accomplices who were strangers that he recruited online, campaigners are hoping the verdicts expected on Thursday will also mark a decisive turning point in combatting sexual violence. The sordid library of abuse videos that Dominique Pélicot carefully catalogued over nearly a decade made this case highly unusual. There often isn’t such strong evidence in many cases of sexual violence, among the reasons why so many rapes go unreported and unprosecuted. But Gisèle Pélicot’s horrific ordeal may help change that. Already, and even before the verdict, the trial has spurred renewed calls here in France to change the legal definition of rape to include specific mention of consent. For Gisèle Pélicot herself, one can only assume and hope that the weeks, months and years ahead will bring recovery and reconstruction. But for the wider world, both in France and beyond, her steely determination, her stoicism and grace have been an inspiration."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Avignon, France – 17 September 2024
2. Several defendants coming out of courtroom during break, hiding their faces with masks, hoods, caps, sunglasses
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Avignon, France – 25 November 2024
3. Various of Gisèle Pelicot being applauded while walking out the courthouse followed by her lawyers Antoine Camus (left) and Stéphane Babonneau (right)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Paris – 19 October 2024
4. Various of protesters
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Avignon, France – 18 September 2024
5. Pélicot and her lawyers entering courtroom
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Court, Avignon, France – 17 September 2024
6. Plaintiff Gisele Pelicot leaves courtroom with lawyers
7. Supporters applauding Pelicot as she walks through the courthouse
STORYLINE:
French judges plan to deliver hugely anticipated verdicts this week in a historic drugging-and-rape trial that has turned the victim, Gisèle Pélicot, into a feminist hero.
Everything about the trial in the southern French city of Avignon has been exceptional, most of all Pélicot herself.
She has been the epitome of steely dignity and resilience through the more than three months of appalling testimony, including extracts from her now ex-husband’s sordid library of homemade abuse videos.
Dominique Pélicot carefully catalogued how he habitually tranquilized his wife of 50 years during their last decade together, so he and dozens of strangers he met online could rape her while she was unconscious.
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Author: AP Archive
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