Pelicot to face rapists again in appeals court, lawyer says

A fearless Gisèle Pelicot is ready to face her rapists in the courtroom again as her fight is far from over, her lawyer has told The Independent.

- TARA COBHAM

After the 72-year-old's now-ex-husband and 50 other men were convicted of raping or sexually assaulting her in a trial that horrified the world last year, 17 defendants launched appeals, five of whom have now dropped their cases, leaving 12 outstanding.

“She’s ready,” Stéphane Babonneau, the lawyer who has been by her side throughout this ordeal, said. “She’s not scared at all. She said, ‘Of course I will be there every day’... This is her fight, her fight is in the courtroom.”

The grandmother was the epitome of dignity, courage and strength as she sat across from her ex Dominique Pelicot in the courtroom in Avignon, France, every day of the gruelling threemonth trial, after he had drugged her and invited other men to join him in unfathomable sexual abuse over the course of a decade.

Ms Pelicot, who has become a symbol of the struggle against sexual violence, chose to waive her anonymity, embodying her powerful message that it is the perpetrators, not the victims, who should feel shame for sexual crimes.

Now, her lawyer says she faces a fresh one-and-a-half-month trial in October – but her bravery and resolve in her mission remain unwavering.

Mr Babonneau described the upcoming trial – which is set to be held in front of a jury this time and comes because the right to appeal in France is absolute – as Ms Pelicot’s current priority. He said she is doing “fine” and spending the time in the retiree village in France where she now lives to preserve her energy in preparation for another battle, even turning down an opportunity to address the EU parliament.