Defense Lawyer in Mazan Rape Trial Files Harassment Complaint Over Social Media Backlash

True to her habits, Nadia El Bouroumi has revealed the behind-the-scenes of her profession on her Instagram page, followed by nearly 50,000 people. This time, it is about videos posted on social networks to comment on the Mazan rape case. In one of the videos, she filmed herself dancing to the chorus of the song Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by the group Wham!. In another, the one who defends two men in the Mazan rape trial also filmed herself declaring: "I’m coming out of the Pélicot trial. Phew! or It’s hot in the Assizes! She [Gisèle Pélicot, ed.] got angry. Me, I took the microphone saying that it was she who had wished that it be public and that now, it is not a question of complaining." These videos provoked outrage.

"There is no indecency," explains El Bouroumi on BFMTV. In my caption, I explain that we have to get up early to muzzle me." She says she has been harassed since the beginning of the controversy. "This song for those who have to get up early before managing to silence me. I was humiliated, insulted, I reacted with humor. It was transformed," she justifies herself further. The criminal lawyer of the Avignon bar claims that her videos were "diverted from their object" and "misinterpreted".

"I explain (in these videos) that I understand during my intervention that when she is under chemical submission, contrary to what the expert had told us, she is not a dead weight. Technically, this should allow us to discuss chemical submission and the consequences it can have. Do I have the right to speak in an assize court?, she questions. Whatever we do, the decision is made and the media decide. I feel sorry for my clients because they are treated as less than nothing. We can’t say anything, we don’t have the right."

Trying to show her good faith, El Bouroumi published a long press release on Saturday in which she assures: "at no time did I try to mock Gisèle Pélicot, whom I consider to be a fragile and victimized person in this case." Insufficient to put an end to the controversy. Annoyed, the lawyer announced that she would file a complaint against X for insults and harassment, according to Midi Libre. "I’m getting emails, messages on social media, on my daughters’ social media," she says. She also plans to file a complaint with Arcom. "There is a very strong manipulation of public opinion by the media," says El Bouroumi.