World
French woman shares 'scenes of barbarity' at trial accusing husband of inviting over 50 men to assault her
A French woman who faced alleged abuses at the hands of her ex-husband and more than 50 others gave her first testimony in court on Thursday.
Gisèle Pélicot, 72, was allegedly drugged and raped after her ex-husband Dominique Pélicot invited the men to participate in her abuse online. Pélicot also filmed the alleged acts, which police used ultimately to arrest him and dozens more on charges of aggravated rape after two years of investigation.
Dominique Pélicot, also in his 70s, allegedly recruited at least 72 other men from 2011 through 2020 to assault his wife. Of the suspects, police were able to track down 50 of the men before trial.
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In September 2020, Dominique landed on the police’s radar after being caught taking photos of women’s crotches at a supermarket. Officers then discovered thousands of photos and videos on his personal devices depicting aggravated assault on Gisèle’s person.
“It’s unbearable,” said Gisèle. “I have so much to say that I don’t always know where to start.”
Gisèle and Dominique were married for 50 years until 2020, when police shared the extent of alleged abuse incurred. They share three children together.
Gisele Pelicot speaks to media as she leaves the Avignon courthouse, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
“For me, everything collapses,” testified Gisèle. “These are scenes of barbarity, of rape.”
Gisèle’s attorneys argued that she was so heavily drugged from crushed-up pills that she had no idea the alleged rapes were going on for nearly 10 years in her own home. She waived her legal right to a closed trial in the hopes her public testimony may spare survivors of similar sexual crimes.
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A toxicologist called to testify on Thursday claimed she was administered a “cocktail” of medications which can cause unconsciousness: Temesta, Zolpidem, hypnotic, and anxiolytic drugs. Gisèle admitted there are memory holes during the years the alleged abuses occurred.
Dominique Pélicot shared with police that he had certain house rules for the alleged rapists, including wearing no scent and thorough hand-washing. Additionally, the men had to remove their clothing before entering their bedroom.
Gisele Pelicot, left, arrives in the Avignon courthouse, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
She contracted no fewer than four sexually transmitted infections during the near-decade-long abuses, according to a medical expert. The alleged rapists were forced by Dominique to not wear condoms, including one allegedly HIV-positive. HIV transmission is not a criminal offense in France save for certain circumstances.
“I was sacrificed on the altar of vice,” Gisèle Pélicot testified. “They regarded me like a rag doll, like a garbage bag.”
Several of the defendants, aged 22 to 70, argued they were manipulated by Dominique Pelicot to engage in the abuse. Some of them had to wait up to 90 minutes nearby for Gisèle Pélicot to fall unconscious.
Gisele Pelicot arrives in the Avignon court house, in Avignon, southern France, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. A woman allegedly drugged by her ex-husband so that she could be raped by other men while she laid unconscious, is expected to testify before a panel of French judges. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly)
“These men entered my home, respected the imposed protocol. They did not rape me with a gun to the head. They raped me in all conscience,” testified Gisèle. “Why didn’t they go to the police station? Even an anonymous phone call could have saved my life.”
The trial, which began Monday, is scheduled to continue for the next four months. If found guilty, each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
“We will have to fight until the end,” asserted Gisèle.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
World
Turkey's Erdogan Says Israel Must Not Scupper US-Iran Deal
World
Waltz calls out Iranian diplomat at UN following drone strikes on Bahrain and Kuwait
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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz scolded Iran during this week’s U.N. Security Council meeting, saying Tehran “will not silence” the body following claims by the Islamic Republic’s representative that council members were spreading falsehoods about its recent attack targeting neighboring Gulf states.
“Let me remind you where you are,” Waltz told Iranian diplomat Amir Saeid Iravani. “This is the United States of America. This is the United Nations Security Council. You will not silence this body.”
Waltz’s remarks came during an emergency meeting of the council in response to drone and missile attacks targeting Bahrain and Kuwait Sunday after new U.S. airstrikes against Iran.
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U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz holds up images he said show the aftermath of Iranian drone and missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait. (U.N. Security Council)
During his remarks, Iravani argued the council should not have met, while accusing the U.S., Bahrain and other members of lying.
“Once again, the representative of the United States has resorted to lies and disinformation against Iran in a desperate attempt to justify the US’s unlawful acts of aggression,” Iravani said.
He also rejected the “unfounded accusations made by certain Western members of the Council and the representative of Bahrain.”
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Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani of Iran speaks during a Security Council meeting after members voted on draft resolution on reopening of Strait of Hormuz at U.N. Headquarters. (Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“Instead of addressing the root cause of the current crisis, they have ignored the unlawful aggression committed against Iran and sought to shift blame onto the victim,” he added. “Their double standards and hypocritical behavior have deprived them of any credibility to lecture others.”
In a post on X, Waltz reiterated his position.
“Iran will not silence us on our own soil,” he wrote. “That might work in Tehran, but not in the UN Security Council. We will tell the truth.”
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Firefighters work to extinguish fire in the aftermath of Iranian drone attacks, according to Bahrain’s Interior Ministry, at a location given as Bahrain, in this handout image released on June 11, 2026. (Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Bahrain/Handout via Reuters)
During the exchange, Waltz held up what he said were images of the aftermath of the Iranian attacks, including a family whose home in Bahrain was destroyed by a Shahed drone, a hotel full of tourists that was also hit and a building used by first responders that Waltz said was deliberately targeted.
“Are they lying?” Waltz said of the victims of the attack. “Is this hypocrisy? Is this what this council is here to denounce today? I ask the representative, are these lies? … I’d say not.”
Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Bahrain’s minister of foreign affairs, said that, since Feb. 28, the island nation has been subjected to 808 attacks comprising 203 ballistic missiles and 605 armed drones.
“These attacks deliberately targeted civilian facilities, critical infrastructure and residential areas, resulting in the deaths of three innocent civilians and injuries to 465 others,” he said, disputing Tehran’s claim that its aggression is directed solely against military objectives.
Washington and Tehran have repeatedly accused each other of violating a fragile ceasefire agreement. On June 27, President Donald Trump said U.S. forces struck Iranian missile and drone storage locations and coastal radar sites after Iran violated the deal.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz speaks after the United Nations Security Council voted on a resolution calling for the unblocking of the Strait of Hormuz during a U.N. Security Council meeting on Iran and the Middle East at U.N. headquarters in New York April 7, 2026. (AFP via Getty Images)
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The exchanges of fire began when an Iranian drone struck a merchant vessel off Oman last week and the U.S. military retaliated, officials said.
“It is very possible that they will never learn! There may come a point when we are no longer able to be reasonable, and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist!”
World
Nabatieh recovery begins amid ongoing southern Lebanon tensions
In the city of Nabatieh, ambulance teams, civil defense units, scouts, municipal workers, and residents joined forces in a large cleanup campaign to remove rubble and reopen streets following extensive destruction caused by the Israeli war on Lebanon.
Published On 4 Jul 2026
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