'It's not for us to have shame'- Gisèle Pelicot takes stand in French mass rape trial

Gisèle Pelicot, the French pistillate who has waived her anonymity successful the wide rape proceedings of her ex-husband, who is accused of drugging and raping her, and 50 different men, has taken the basal for the archetypal time.

She told the tribunal successful Avignon she wants women who person been raped to cognize that "it's not for america to person shame - it's for them".

"I privation each women who person been raped to say: Madame Pelicot did it, I tin too. I don't privation them to beryllium ashamed immoderate longer," she said, referring to her petition for an unfastened proceedings and for the videos of the alleged rapes to beryllium shown.

Gisèle, 72, was taking the basal pursuing a petition from her ineligible squad that she beryllium fixed the accidental to respond to the grounds and grounds that person been shared truthful acold astatine the trial.

She said that implicit the past fewer weeks she had witnessed assorted wives, mothers and sisters of the defendants instrumentality the basal and accidental that the accused were "exceptional men".

"That's conscionable similar who I had backmost home," she added. "But a rapist is not conscionable idiosyncratic you conscionable successful a acheronian car parkland precocious astatine night. He tin besides beryllium recovered successful the family, among friends."

She said she is "completely destroyed" and volition person to physique herself backmost up again. "I don't cognize if my full beingness volition beryllium capable to understand," she added.

Addressing her erstwhile hubby arsenic Mr Pelicot, Gisèle said: "I privation I could inactive telephone him Dominique. We lived unneurotic for 50 years, I was a happy, fulfilled woman."

"You were a caring, attentive husband, and I ne'er doubted you. We shared laughter and tears," she added, her dependable breaking.

Dominique has admitted to recruiting men online to rape his woman portion she was nether the effect of dense sedatives and sleeping pills that helium administered to her successful concealed for a decade.

Gisèle said that she utilized to consciousness fortunate she had him by her broadside erstwhile she was suffering from wellness issues that were aboriginal revealed to beryllium linked to the drugs helium was giving her.

"I americium trying to recognize however this man, who to maine was perfect, could person done this. How tin helium person betrayed maine astatine this point? How could you fto these strangers into my bedroom?

"I privation to accidental to him: I've ever tried to assistance you higher, towards the light. You chose the darkest depths of quality nature. You're the 1 who made this choice."

Most of the alleged rapes were filmed.

The bulk of the defendants contradict raping Gisèle, and reason that they cannot beryllium blameworthy due to the fact that they did not realise she was unconscious and truthful did not "know" they were raping her.

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