The ex-husband of Gisle Pelicot won't appeal his 20-year prison sentence for drugging and raping her and allowing dozens of other men to also rape her while she was unconscious, in a case that revolted France, his lawyer said Monday. Dominique Pelicot wants to spare his ex-wife the ordeal of another trial, lawyer Batrice Zavarro said in an interview with broadcaster France Info. She said 17 of the 50 other men found guilty this month after a trial that lasted more than three months have decided to appeal their sentences. The court in the southern French city of Avignon handed down sentences ranging from three to 15 years' imprisonment for the 50 men found guilty of rape, attempted rape and sexual assault on Gisle Pelicot in a nearly decade-long period. The court found Dominique Pelicot guilty of rape and all other charges against him and sentenced him to 20 years in prison, which was the maximum possible. At age 72, he could spend the rest of his life behind bars. He won't be ...
Senior Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee on Tuesday said there is a need to bring a comprehensive anti-rape law in a time-bound manner. The West Bengal Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the anti-rape Bill that seeks capital punishment for persons convicted of rape if their actions result in the victim's death or leave her in a vegetative state. Banerjee, the national general secretary of TMC, in a post on X claimed an incident of rape is taking place in the country every 15 minutes which raises the demand for such a law. "Given the harrowing statistic of a rape every 15 minutes, the demand for a comprehensive time-bound anti-rape law is more pressing than ever. Bengal is leading the charge with its anti-rape bill," he said. "The union must now take decisive action - whether by ordinance or BNSS amendment in the upcoming parliament session to ensure that justice is both swift and severe, with trials and convictions concluded in 50 days," he said. The Diamond Harbour
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding stringent central legislation with exemplary punishment for perpetrators of rape, a senior official said here. Alapan Bandopadhyay, Chief Advisor to the West Bengal Chief Minister, read the letter at a press conference. Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, wrote the letter in the backdrop of countrywide protests over the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata earlier this month. Noting the regular occurrence of rape cases throughout the country, Banerjee highlighted that, according to available data, nearly 90 rape cases occur daily. In many cases, rape victims were murdered. It is horrifying to see this trend. It shakes the confidence and conscience of society and the nation. It is our bounden duty to put an end to it so that women feel safe and secure. Such a serious and sensitive issue needs to be ...
Nearly four years after Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sent to prison, New York's highest court appeared torn at oral arguments Wednesday about potentially overturning the landmark #MeToo-era verdict. Weinstein's lawyers urged the state's Court of Appeals to dismiss the disgraced movie mogul's 2020 conviction, arguing that the trial judge, James Burke, trampled his right to a fair trial with pro-prosecution rulings that turned the trial into 1-800-GET-HARVEY. It was his character that was on trial. It wasn't the evidence that was on trial, Weinstein's lawyer Arthur Aidala told the seven-member court in Albany. Weinstein, 71, was convicted of a criminal sex act for forcibly performing oral sex on a TV and film production assistant in 2006 and rape in the third degree for an attack on an aspiring actress in 2013. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison. Last year, he was convicted in Los Angeles of another rape and sentenced to an additional 16 years in prison. A lawyer fo
Sri Lankan cricket international Danushka Gunathilaka has been found not guilty of raping a woman he met on a dating site during the south Asian team's tour of Australia last November. Judge Sarah Huggett acquitted the 32-year-old player as he sat at Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Thursday listening to the decision. Huggett found that the alleged victim, who cannot be legally named, was an intelligent witness who did not deliberately give false evidence about the use of a condom but was motivated by a desire to paint the cricketer in an unfavorable light. I find that the evidence regarding the complaint far from supports the complainant. Rather it undermines the reliability of her evidence, she said. Gunathilaka and the woman met for drinks at a bar before having pizza together in downtown Sydney and catching a ferry to the woman's home in the city's eastern suburbs. The woman accused him of various acts of aggression and violence. Police initially brought four charges
Book review of THE GOOD GIRLS: An Ordinary Killing
The bench has sought response of the ministry and the Delhi government by August 29