Watch: Defence lawyer in France rape trial dances to Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go
A lawyer defending two of the 50 men accused of raping French woman Gisèle Pelicot while she was drugged unconscious by her husband has sparked public outrage after posting a video of herself dancing to the Wham song Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.
Published to her nearly 52,000 Instagram followers, the video shows Nadia El Bouroumi, 45, dancing to the 1980s pop song in the front seat of her car, pointing to her biceps, and giving two thumbs up under a caption that reads: “To all extremists in thought who are trying to muzzle me, this is for you.”
Since the start of the trial earlier this month, Ms El Bouroumi has become one of the most outspoken and visible members of the defence team.
She regularly posts updates on Instagram that have sparked public fury for what has been described as her glib, unprofessional treatment of a mass rape trial that has rocked France, in the manner of a wannabe influencer.
“I’m out of the Pelicot trial, whew,” she shouts to the camera in one Instagram video.
During the trial, she raised her voice in anger against Mrs Pelicot in the courtroom and implied that the victim may have played sex games, drawing controversy among followers of the case.
Her dancing video has been interpreted as a mockery and affront to Mrs Pelicot, 72, whose husband, Dominique, 71, is accused of drugging her over the span of nearly 10 years and and enlisted 50 men to rape her while she was unconscious.
The couple’s daughter Caroline Peyronnet, who used the penname Caroline Darian, had also founded an association called Don’t Fall Asleep: Stop Chemical Submission to raise awareness of the use of date rape drugs in France.
Accompanying the dance post, Ms El Bouroumi wrote: “Never will you shut me up because you feel my opinion or position doesn’t suit you!”
But the video’s intent backfired, attracting an avalanche of hate mail and threats, prompting her to issue a follow-up post and to announce that she has filed a complaint of harassment.
“I want to clarify that the recently shared and commented on video has been hijacked. I’m deeply sorry if my words were misunderstood. At no point have I tried to make fun of Gisèle Pellicot, who I consider to be a fragile person and victim in this case,” the post reads.
In the post, the lawyer continues to frame herself as a victim and complain that she and her family are constantly harassed.
She said that the “incessant public and media pressure” is preventing her from defending her clients in an “impartial manner”.
Fellow lawyers have spoken out against their colleague.
“To go on social networks and sing a verse from this song seems to me to be unworthy and not in keeping with the demands we make as lawyers”, Alain Lothe, a criminal lawyer in Marseille, told the local French newspaper La Provence.
According to a 2012 profile published by the local paper Dauphiné Libéré, Ms El Bouroumi is the ninth of 10 children, and was forced into marriage at the age of 16 to an abusive man.
She escaped with her daughter to Avignon, where she went to law school and worked as a hairdresser on weekends. She received her diploma in two years and has been practising since 2008.
