Gisèle Pelicot speaks out as only man who appealed conviction for raping her has sentenced increased

Warning: This article contains discussion of rape which some readers may find distressing.

Gisèle Pelicot has condemned the appalling actions of her assailants as she continues to shift the shame placed on victims of rape to their attackers.

The 72-year-old mom - who endured nearly a decade of horrific sexual assaults after being drugged by her ex-husband - once again took a defiant stance with all victims of abuse, as the only man to appeal his conviction for raping her saw his sentence increased.

"For me, the harm has been done - I will need to rebuild from these ruins and I think I’m on the right road - but what I want to say to others is that I never regretted my decisions, from filing a legal complaint until today," she told the court in Nîmes, located in the south of France.

"I want to say to victims to never be ashamed of what was imposed on them, because they’re never responsible."

Convicted rapist Husamettin Dogan, a 44-year-old father, has seen his sentence increased from nine years to 10 for the attack on Pelicot (CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP via Getty Images)

Gisèle has become synonymous with courage and strength after she waived her anonymity in the trial of 51 men who raped her while she was unconscious. Her former husband, Dominique Pelicot, was found guilty of crushing sedatives into her food and inviting strangers to assault her in their bedroom in Mazan - a commune in the southeast of France - between 2011 and 2020.

Among the 50 other men convicted was 44-year-old father Husamettin Dogan, who had originally been sentenced to nine years in prison, but yesterday (October 10), it was increased to 10 years behind bars.

In his appeal, he claimed that he was manipulated by Dominique, and insisted he never raped her but instead made 'love' to her.

But the appeal court was shown chilling footage of Dogan assaulting Gisèle while she lay unconscious - and was snoring during the attack - with judges even hearing how she was at risk of suffocating due to her comatose state.

Gisèle Pelicot blasted Dogan for claiming his attack on her was consensual (Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images)

In court, Pelicot confronted him directly, saying: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never."

Dogan claimed the recordings were 'sex scenes', but Pelicot responded firmly: “This is not a sex scene, it is rape. And without a condom.”

She said watching the evidence during the investigation left 'these scenes imprinted into my memory forever'.

For years, Pelicot believed she was suffering from memory loss linked to illness, unaware she was being drugged into 'a state of general anaesthesia'.

She now lives with multiple lifelong health consequences, including several sexually transmitted diseases requiring constant treatment.

The crimes only came to light after her ex-husband was caught filming under a woman’s skirt in a supermarket in 2020.

If you've been affected by any of the issues in this article, you can contact The National Sexual Assault Hotline on 800.656.HOPE (4673), available 24/7. Or you can chat online via online.rainn.org

• Only man to appeal conviction for raping Gisèle Pelicot has sentence increased by court