“Five days before Christmas, it's the worst of fears”: the time for the verdict arrives for the 51 accused of the Mazan rapes

Me Alixia Berard défend plusieurs accusés comparaissant libres. MIDI LIBRE – François Barrère

The verdict is due to be delivered this Thursday, December 19th starting at 9:30 am at the Avignon courthouse. Follow live the decisions rendered by the Vaucluse criminal court against Dominique Pelicot and his 50 co-defendants. Sentences ranging from ten to twenty years in prison have been requested, but around thirty of them have pleaded acquittal and are waiting to be found innocent.

“The hardest part is of course for them. But they are mainly thinking about their family. Five days before Christmas, it is the worst kind of anxiety for them.”Lawyer for several defendants appearing free at the Mazan rape trial, Me Alexia Berard is now waiting, like them, for the end of a countdown that began at the opening of the hearing on September 2, and which has accelerated since the end of the indictment on November 27.

Ten to twenty years of imprisonment requested

It is this morning, starting at 9:30 a.m., that each will know their fate, and will know if the pleadings of their lawyers, and their last words, pronounced this Monday, December 16, have convinced the court. The prosecution requested that they all be found guilty, and sentenced to terms ranging from ten to twenty years in prison for the 50 accused of aggravated rape.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

A four-year sentence was requested against the only accused prosecuted for aggravated sexual assault. For their part, 33 of the accused pleaded for acquittal, and hope to escape a return behind bars, each having spent between eight and eighteen months in pretrial detention, while 17 of them still appear in custody.

“Caught in a mix of emotions”

“They are caught in a mix of emotions. The first is worry, and the second, a form of concentration. They are refocusing a little on themselves, and there is of course a form of preparation for detention, because they are lucid about the situation” continued Mr. Berard.

“My client is convinced that he needs to prepare his bag, because he thinks that the game is over, knowing that I pleaded for acquittal” sighs Me Catherine Monzat, who defends Jean T., 52 years old, against whom a twelve-year sentence has been requested.

“I still try after 23 years to believe in justice”

“I don't find him serene, he's not in a panic, but he's in a state of fatality. I still try after 23 years to believe in justice, but he's there. We, the lawyers, are accountable for the court's decisions, which it won't have time to explain, and we're going to have to do it. We won't have the reasons for the decision until three days after the verdict. It's terrible, but you have to wonder if we're not more stressed than our clients while waiting for this verdict.”

Me Guilaine Michel, who defends Florian R., 32, who risks 13 years in prison, saw his behavior change in recent days.

“He is preparing for the shock”

“He is sinking into a fairly deep silence, he is speaking less and less, he is very anxious. He was incarcerated for the very first time in his life for this case three years ago, it has been two years since he was released from detention, he has his life outside. He is trying to enjoy his family, and at the same time the more time he spends with them the more he feels like he is nourishing ties and memories that he will miss later. I think he is walling himself in to prepare himself, he is preparing for the shock. He knows that it is going to be very hard, but he will not escape it and if he has to go back, he will serve the sentence he has to serve. But between the thirteen-year requisitions and the acquittal that I requested, anything can happen, and I am obviously not ruling out appealing.”

The verdict will be followed in live on Midilibre.fr, this Thursday, December 19 from 9:30 a.m., from an ultra-secure Avignon courthouse where only lawyers, defendants and the press should be present.

I subscribe to read the rest