Less than a year after the landmark trial which shook France and the world, Gisèle Pelicot will once again brave a courtroom as one of her convicted rapists appeals his sentence.
Warning: This article contains details that may be distressing for some readers.
In December last year, Ms Pelicot’s ex-husband and 50 other men were convicted of sexually assaulting her between 2011 and 2020 while she was under chemical submission.
The 72-year-old's strength coming forward and shunning anonymity during the trial made her a symbol in the fight against sexual violence.
Now, one of those convicted — Husamettin Dogan — looks to appeal his sentence.
Here's what this may mean.
Who is Gisèle Pelicot?
The life of Ms Pelicot — a pensioner and a grandmother living in the small Provence town of Mazan — was shattered when police came to her in 2022 with 20,000 horrific videos and photographs documenting her own abuse collected by her husband Dominique Pelicot.
Police discovered Pelicot had recruited more than 60 men to rape his wife over nearly a decade.
Ms Pelicot's husband of 50 years would drug and offer his unconscious wife up to strangers he met online, police later learned.
The subsequent trial drew international attention when Ms Pelicot opposed a closed hearing, a demand made by several defendants.
“I have nothing to be ashamed of. Shame must change sides,” she said on the trial’s opening day.
The court sided with her.
After a four-month trial, Dominique and 50 other men were convicted.
Dominique was sentenced to 20 years in prison, while sentences for other defendants ranged from three to 15 years imprisonment.
During the trial's confronting retelling of events, Ms Pelicot would appear in person, head-high, often wearing round sunglasses.
Her strength in the face of the unimaginable made her international figure in the reckoning against rape culture.
In July, Pelicot was awarded France's top civic honour.
Who is Husamettin Dogan?
Of the 51 convicted men, 17 initially filed appeals. Most of those were withdrawn except for that of Dogan.
The 44-year-old construction worker was sentenced to nine years in prison but denies he intended to rape Ms Pelicot, arguing he was deceived by Dominique.
His lawyer Sylvie Menvielle said her client believed he was participating in a libertine threesome and did not know at the time Ms Pelicot had not given her consent, so he could not accept the guilty verdict.
"He was facing someone who was acting with extraordinary manipulation and perversity," Ms Menvielle told Reuters, referring to Dominique.
In French criminal law, intent is crucial in assessing guilt.
Dogan will stand trial on charges of aggravated rape by administering substances that impair judgement or self-control, an offence carrying up to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors had sought 12 years at his first trial, but the court imposed nine.
Dogan remains free pending the verdict.
What happens now?
Dominique Pelicot has admitted his role and did not appeal his 20-year prison sentence, now final.
He is expected to testify during the appeals hearing which began on Monday, local time.
Ms Pelicot is also expected to appear in court once again.
Dogan's retrial is scheduled to last no more than four days, with a verdict expected Thursday.
