Gisele Pelicot, magazine reach settlement over invasion of privacy
Gisele Pelicot, a French feminist icon who survived nearly a decade of rapes by dozens of men, has reached a settlement with a magazine she accused of taking photos without her consent, her lawyer has said.
Attorney Emilie Sudre said late Tuesday that "an amicable settlement" had been reached between Gisele Pelicot and the Paris Match weekly, instead of the case going to court on Wednesday.
In April, Paris Match published seven pictures of Pelicot accompanied by a man it described as being her new companion walking in the streets in her new hometown.
Her lawyer Antoine Camus at the time said it was "disappointing" that Paris Match would secretly take pictures of Pelicot "whose ordeal was the subject of 3,000 pictures and videos".
He accused the magazine of "having learned nothing from the four-month trial" last year that saw her ex-husband and 50 other men convicted.
Sudre said Gisele Pelicot had not requested any "compensation" as part of the settlement.
Her client instead agreed that the magazine "pay 40,000 euros ($45,000) to two associations supporting victims of violence, including within families", especially children and women, she said.
The two non-governmental organisations fund a women's shelter and a riding centre that helps survivors recover, the second based in the southern town of Mazan where much of the abuse Gisele Pelicot suffered took place.
Christophe Bigot, a lawyer for Paris Match, said the magazine was "delighted with the solution, which would help victims of violence".
Gisele Pelicot, who has since changed her name, gained international acclaim after she demanded her trial be open to the public, insisting it was up to rapists -- not their victims -- to feel ashamed.
Dominique Pelicot, her former husband, drugged her for nearly a decade so he and dozens of strangers he recruited online could rape her in her own bed. He meticulously documented the abuse in files on his computer.
A French court in December sentenced him to 20 years in prison.
Fifty other men, the strangers who he recruited online to carry out abuse alongside him, were also convicted in a trial that saw no acquittals.
Seventeen of the other defendants initially lodged an appeal, but sixteen have since withdrawn their claim.
The single remaining appellant, Husamettin D., has the right to drop his appeal right up until the opening of his hearing scheduled for October 6.
adr-ah/as/giv

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
What happened to the Madleen Gaza boat activists detained by Israel?
On June 9, Israeli forces seized the Madleen ship in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea as it attempted to break the suffocating siege on Gaza. The 12 activists on board – who belong to the Freedom Flotilla Coalition – were abducted in international waters and taken to Israel. One day after their capture, four of them were swiftly deported after waiving their right to see an Israeli judge and signing a deportation order that claimed they had 'illegally' entered Israel. Well-known Swedish climate and human rights activist, Greta Thunberg, was among those deported. The other eight refused to sign and remained in detention. On Thursday, six of them were deported, including Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament. Another two French nationals remain in Israeli custody awaiting deportation on Friday, according to Adalah, a nonprofit legal association in Israel. This is everything you need to know about their treatment. On Tuesday, Israel deported Thunberg (Sweden), Sergio Toribio (Spain), Baptiste Andre (France) and Omar Faiad (France). Faiad is a reporter with Al Jazeera Mubasher. On Thursday, six more were deported, including Rima Hassan, a French-Palestinian member of the European Parliament, Mark van Rennes (Netherlands), Suayb Ordu (Turkiye), Yasemin Acar (Germany), Thiago Avila (Brazil) and Reva Viard (France), according to Adalah, cited by Turkish news agency Anadolu. French nationals Pascal Maurieras and Yanis Mhamdi remain in detention and are expected to be released on Friday, according to Adalah. Mhamdi is a journalist for The Blast, a French left-wing outlet. In Givon prison in Ramla, a city between West Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Two of the activists, Hassan and Avila, were placed in solitary confinement, according to Adalah. Hassan was taken there after first writing 'Free Palestine' on the prison walls. Adalah later reported that Avila began a hunger and water strike to protest Israel's blockade of Gaza, which has led to widespread starvation. Hassan was later returned to Givon, said Adalah. After Thursday's release of Hassan and Avila, along with four others from the Madleen, Adalah released a statement saying that 'volunteers were subjected to mistreatment, punitive measures and aggressive treatment, and two volunteers were held for some period of time in solitary confinement'. According to Luigi Daniele, a legal scholar at the University of Molise, Italy, Israel has no right to intercept a boat in international waters or to deny aid to starving civilians in Gaza. On the contrary, Israel has an international legal obligation as an occupying power to facilitate aid into Gaza. He told a local Italian outlet that Israel, above all, has no legal right to use force or permanent aggression on occupied Palestinian territory, including against the activists who were sailing to Gaza on the Madleen. Adalah has also argued that the activists were not trying to enter Israel illegally, but were sailing to Gaza, which is occupied Palestinian land. Israeli courts dismissed the legal arguments made by Madleen activists are supposed to serve 72 hours in the Israeli prison before being deported back to their home countries, according to Israeli law. This indicates all activists should have been released at some point on June 12, yet it is unclear if the remaining detainees – Maurieras and Mhamdi – will face additional charges that could keep them longer in prison. Some have, while others have been curiously silent. France's foreign minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, said earlier this week that he expected the four French activists who were on board the Madleen to return to France on Thursday or Friday. As of Thursday, two remained in detention. Brazil had also demanded the release of Brazilian activist, Avila. When the activists were first abducted from international waters, Brazilian diplomats reportedly visited Givon prison to assist with legal proceedings. In addition, Turkiye called Israel a 'terrorist state' after the Madleen was intercepted. Germany and the Netherlands, however, did not issue public statements to demand the release of their nationals. The Madleen's captain, Mark van Reenes, deported on Thursday, is a Dutch national who filmed himself just before Israel seized the ship. In the video, he called on his country to urgently demand his release. UN special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territory, Francesca Albanese, also posted on X that 'the silence of [European Union] institutions over the unlawful detention and punitive conditions imposed on EU citizens including [Hassan] speaks volumes to the deep roots of Israelism in European institutional culture'.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man says he's the sole survivor of the Air India plane crash
A senior Indian police official told the country's national news agency ANI on Thursday that one person — a man who was in seat 11A on the doomed Air India flight to London that crashed soon after takeoff in the city of Ahmedabad — survived the catastrophe. Indian media outlets spoke with a man in a local hospital who said he was U.K. citizen Vishwash Kumar Ramesh, the person who had been listed in that seat on flight AI171, according to the flight manifest shared by Indian authorities. Ahmedabad Police Commissioner GS Malik, who initially told ANI there were no known survivors from the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner that crashed into the city, was later quoted by the same news agency as saying "the police found one survivor in seat 11A." He said the person was "in the hospital and is under treatment." "Yes, one survivor is confirmed," said Dhananjay Dwivedi, principal secretary of the Gujarat state health department, according to the French news agency AFP, without identifying the person. Dr. Dhaval Gameti at Ahmedabad's Civil Hospital told The Associated Press that he had examined Ramesh and that while the crash survivor "was disoriented with multiple injuries all over his body... he seems to be out of danger." Gameti told the AP that 186 bodies of passengers from the plane had been brought to the Civil Hospital. Indian media outlets that spoke with Ramesh in the hospital said he had a ticket for the ill-fated flight showing his name and the 11a seat assignment. "Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed. It all happened so quickly," the Hindustan Times quoted Ramesh as saying. The newspaper said he reported suffering "impact injuries" to his chest, face and feet. Video of the crash shows the plane flying low over buildings before dropping out of sight, followed by a massive explosion that sends a giant fireball into the air. Video shows Air India plane crashing in Ahmedabad Air India plane crashes shortly after takeoff, carrying more than 240 people An accused woman skips her pedicure, kills her ex-husband
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Six more Madleen Gaza humanitarian activists deported from Israel
June 12 (UPI) -- Six more activists from the Freedom Flotilla Gaza humanitarian aid mission aboard the Madleen boat were deported from Israel Thursday. The Adalah civil rights center said six international activists Mark van Rennes of the Netherlands, Suyab Ordu of Turkey, Yasemin Acar of Germany, Thiago Avila of Brazil and Rva Viard and Rima Hassan both of France were being transported to Ben Guiron airport for deportation after being detained for 72 hours. Adalaha added that French nationals Pascal Maurieras and Yanis Mhamdi are the last remaining activists from the Madleen and are expected to be deported from Israel Friday. The Israeli Navy intercepted the Madleen while it was enroute to Gaza in international waters. Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was among the activists deported earlier this week. Eight of the activists challenged their detention while four waived their right to go before a judge and were deported immediately. Israel's Detention Review Tribunal found the naval blockade of Gaza is legal under Israeli law and therefore the activists were lawfully detained. The activists assert that their detention and deportations are violations of international law. According to the Adalah Center, the activists reported they were subjected to solitary confinement and their access to attorneys was restricted.