A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence

A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her has decided to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the a… A French judge in a shocking rape case allows the public to see some of the video evidence PARIS — A French judge in the trial of dozens of men accused of raping an unconscious woman whose now former husband had repeatedly drugged her so that he and others could assault her decided on Friday to allow the public to see some of the video recordings of the alleged rapes. It comes after a two-week legal battle in which journalists following the trial and lawyers of Gisèle Pelicot — who was allegedly raped over the course of a decade — argued that the videos were crucial for a full understanding of the extraordinary trial. She has been praised for her courage and composure, admired for speaking in a calm and clear voice and allowing that her full name be published — uncommon under French law for victims in rape trials. Her insistence that the videos, recorded by her ex-husband and submitted as evidence in the trial — in which men can be seen sexually abusing her apparently inert body — be shown to the public speak to her wish that trial serve as a national example, one of her lawyers told The Associated Press. “Gisèle Pelicot thinks that this shock wave is necessary, so that no one can say after this: ‘I didn’t know this was rape’.” The explicit videos shown during the trial, which has underscored the difficulties that sexual violence victims can face in France, are especially important, Pelicot’s lawyers say, since the vast majority of the defendants deny the allegations of rape. Some defendants claim Pelicot’s husband tricked them, others say he forced them to have sexual intercourse with her and that they were terrified. With Friday’s decision, Judge Arata reversed his earlier Sept. 20 ruling that the videos would be shown only on a case-by-case basis, and behind closed doors. A day later, France’s Judicial Press Association filed a request against the decision, backed by Pelicot’s lawyers. Jean-Philippe Deniau, a journalist who covers the judiciary for France Inter Radio and who has followed the trial, says the videos are essential to the people’s understanding of the case. “When we work on trials about terrorist attacks, crimes, murders … there are always difficult moments,” Deniau said. As an example, he mentioned hearing several defendants earlier this week testify they had come to the Pelicots’ house in Provence to have consensual sexual intercourse, and that they were taking part in a “game” to see if they could get Gisèle Pelicot to wake up. Deniau said that following the ruling on Friday, the court was later in the day shown one four-minute recording from the collection of videos. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/french-judge-shocking-rape-case-allows-public-video-114511838