AMMAR ABD RABBO / El Gouna Film Festival
Gérard Depardieu is now the subject of three complaints for rape.
VIOLENCE – The facts date back to 1995, in Paris. Ruth Baza, a Spanish author and journalist now aged 51, told AFP that she had filed a complaint a few days ago in her country against Gérard Depardieu. She accuses the actor of a rape which allegedly took place during an interview in France, on October 12, 1995, while she was working for the specialized magazine Cinemania. This is the Spanish daily La Vanguardia who first revealed this information.
At the time of the reported rape, Ruth Baza was 23 years old and the actor was 46 years old. The journalist mentions “ an intrusion without any consent, at any time » who would have « paralyzed » during the sexual assault, which allegedly took place on the premises of the former production company Roissy Films. As our colleagues from AFP specify, in the Spanish Penal Code, the offense of “ sexual assault » includes what is rape in the eyes of French justice. If Ruth Baza mentioned to AFP a “ sexual assault “, she claims that the police thus classified it as rape.
Ruth Baza again explained to AFP that she had forgotten this attack until very recently. It was the publication by Mediapart of an investigation into the actor, where we discovered the testimonies of 13 women, which would have served as the trigger.
Gérard Depardieu targeted by several complaints
She would then have reconstructed, using her personal notes, the traumatic event which had disappeared from her memory. Legally, the facts are a priori prescribed in the eyes of French justice and the complaint therefore has little chance of success, but Ruth Baza still wanted to initiate proceedings to, as the AFP quotes her, “ help other people ” to speak.
The filing of this complaint has not yet been confirmed by the public prosecutor’s office or the Spanish police. If so, this will be the third complaint against the multi-awarded actor.
After a complaint filed by actress Charlotte Arnould, Gérard Depardieu was indicted in 2020 for rape. A second complaint for rape was filed by actress Hélène Darras, for apparently prescribed facts dating back to 2007. Two accusations that the person concerned denies outright.
A few days ago, the France 2 program “Complément d’Enquête” revealed images of Gérard Depardieu filmed in North Korea in which he increased the number of obscene behaviors and remarks amounting to at least sexual harassment.
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