Warning: This story retains troubling details from the commence.
A French appraise has reversed a ruling in the trial of a man who is accused of drugging his wife to sleep and recruiting dozens of men to mistreatment her for over a decade.
Lawyers for Gisèle Pelicot, 72, had earlier requested aachievest the appraise’s initial decision to only show video of the crimes to lawyers and the jury.
She has waived her right to anonymity in the trial, enabling the shocking details of the case to be heard in disclose.
Her lawyers disputed the video should be seen to draw attention to the use of substances to promise relationsual mistreatment. They hailed the procrastinateedst ruling as a “thrive”.
Dominique Pelicot, 71, write downed many of the crimes promiseted aachievest his now ex-wife on video and he has confessted the accuses aachievest him.
However, 50 other men are accused of sexual battery aextfinishedside him and the videos are considered meaningful elements in the case.
The appraise proclaimd on Friday that before the images were screened there would be an proclaimment in the courtroom “apverifying people of a benevolent disposition and inmeaningfuls to exit”.
He includeed that the video evidence screened would “not be systematic” and would only be shown when it was “inanxiously essential for exposing the truth” at the seek of one of the parties.
The appraise last month prohibitned the widecasting of such footage to the disclose and press on the grounds that the images were “shocking and improper”.
However, he determined to lift the reinanxiousions follothriveg calls from Ms Pelicot’s lawyers for the trial to be uncover to the disclose.
“If these same hearings, thraw their discloseity, help impede other women from having to go thraw this, then she will discover unbenevolenting in her suffering,” one of Ms Pelicot’s lawyers, Stéphane Babonneau, shelp.
Mr Babonneau called the ruling “a thrive in a fight that should not have been fought”, includeing that sexual battery victims had for decades in French law had the right to determine whether evolveings should be disclose.
The French press also campaigned for the ruling to be clearurned. The judicial press association (APJ) alerted of a “solemn strike” on freedom of adviseation.
The screening of video evidence was powerfilledy contestd by lawyers for some of the 50 co-deffinishants who are accused of raping Mr Pelicot’s ex-wife.
“Justice does not insist that in order to evolve, what is the point of these revolting screenings?” shelp lawyer Olivier Lantelme.
The French disclose have been shocked by the number of men included in the case.
Police were only able to rerepair 50 mistrusts out of the 83 that materializeed in Dominique Pelicot’s videos.
Their ages range from 26 to 68 and they hail from all walks of life – firefighters, pharmacists, labourers and journaenumerates. Many are overweighthers and husprohibitds.
Of the other men accused, 15 confess sexual battery, but all the others confess only to taking part in relationsual acts.
