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Pascal Mazurier Rape Case Timeline


The Pascal Mazurier Rape Case:

Between being arrested for raping his child (2012) to being an advocate for 'fatherhood' (2017)

view pdf version here





C:\Users\Ananya\Desktop\Blank Noise\bca69bc3-f5f5-43b0-801e-de44c376f0d0.jpgScroll.in

Suja Jones had long been suspecting that her infant daughter was being sexually abused. Her suspicions were confirmed when she returned home to see her daughter crying after having spent nearly four hours with her husband Pascal Mazurier in their bedroom.  Following this, in June 2012, she filed a complaint against Mazurier that began a five year long battle against not only her husband, but also society, that repeatedly accused her of being a 'bad mother'. In April 2017, Mazurier was acquitted by the Karnataka district court, the verdict stating that he was innocent and that Suja was using her daughter as a 'weapon' to stop him from leaving India. 

2012

  • Suja Jones had been experiencing domestic violence by her husband Pascal Mazurier, a diplomat at the French Consulate, Bangalore. In 2010, she suspects that her then two year old child, could be a victim of sexual abuse. She takes her daughter for sessions with Dr. Saldhana at Enfold.
  • June 5th 2012: Dr. Saldhana confirms Suja Jones’s belief of child sexual abuse based on her child’s reactions.
Source: 1. http://www.firstpost.com/india/french-diplomat-rape-case-when-it-all-began-350168.html
  • 13th June, 2012: Suja Jones comes home to see her daughter crying. She is informed by her domestic help that Mazurier spent a long time in the bedroom with their daughter and that she had been crying since. She takes her daughter to the Baptist hospital immediately.
Source: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/bangalore/french-diplomat-held-on-charge-of-raping-his-child/article3531968.ece
  • 14th June, 2012: Suja files a police complaint, after she is orally informed by the Collaborative Child Response Unit of the Baptist Hospital that the child showed tell-tale marks of sexual abuse. The doctors at the hospital claim that it is a medico legal case, and therefore retain the medical report with the intention of submitting it to the police themselves later.  Pascal Mazurier is held by the Bangalore police on charges of rape. The FIR was registered under Section 376 of the IPC at the High Grounds police station, where he is held for the night and released the next morning. He is not arrested because the French Consul General asks the Police Commissioner not to arrest him till the matter about his diplomatic status was sorted out. Not having a diplomatic passport in India, Pascal was never a diplomat. However, the Consul General was just playing with time or trying to see how they could protect Pascal.
  • 19th June, 2012: There are protests and demonstrations in Bangalore against Pascal Mazurier, by organisations including Enfold. Following this, Mazurier is arrested. The French Embassy draws out a statement saying it would provide full cooperation with the investigation of the case and says that Mazurier does not hold diplomatic immunity and will be tried in India. Suja Jones requests the French Embassy for financial support for herself and her three children. C:\Users\Ananya\Desktop\Blank Noise\arrest.jpg
  • 8th July, 2012: The Bangalore police claim that the results of the DNA tests of the samples collected from Mazurier were 'inconclusive'.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2170597/Bangalore-police-say-DNA-test-report-rape-accused-French-father-inconclusive.html#ixzz4jI8D2E5h
Source: MANJUNATH KIRAN/AFP / Getty Images
  • 26th July, 2012: Mazurier appeals for bail on several occasions. The bail is denied in the lower court. However, later, in the high court he is granted bail.
  • 17th September, 2012: Pascal Mazurier is officially charged for the rape of his daughter. He once again appeals for a bail.
  • 16th October, 2012: Mazurier released on a bail from the high court for Rs.100,000/  from the Parapanna Agrahara jail.

2013

  • January, 2013: Police files an additional charge sheet against Mazurier, with a detailed report of doctors who said the accused sodomised and raped his daughter for two years.
4Youtube.com
  • 17th June, 2013: Mens Rights Activists and other groups including CRISP (http://www.crisp-india.org/) support Mazurier.  Photos of Mazurier appear with MRA community, holding placards saying “ papa loves you” . During this period, Pascal is seen ( based on images found on the web), to be working towards building public sympathy towards him. With the help of Men’s Rights Activist groups, Mazurier moves a petition seeking custody and visitation rights for his three children before the family court. Court grants him visitation rights for the two sons, once a month.
  • 22nd December, 2013: Mazurier continues to work towards building public sympathy towards him. He tells reporters in December 2013, that the "ordeal and ill-treatment" he has faced is comparable to the "humiliation" suffered by Devyani Khobragade, the Indian diplomat who had been strip-searched and arrested in New York.
Source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/131222/news-current-affairs/article/i-was-treated-devyani-here-pascal-mazurier

2014

  • Trial begins in the rape and sodomy case in the Special Court. BT Venkatesh, lawyer, represents Suja Jones.
Source:1.
  • 15th February, 2014: Jones files an application pressing for sodomy charges against Mazurier.
  • 12th March, 2014: Bangalore Court allows sodomy charge against Mazurier.
Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-bangalore-court-allows-sodomy-charge-against-french-consular-official-pascal-mazurier-1968762
  • 16th April, 2014: Mazurier  approaches Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ‘speedy justice’.
C:\Users\Ananya\Desktop\Blank Noise\french-diplomat-pascal-mazurier-charged-with-rape-seeks-narendra-modis-ntervention-for-speedy-justice.jpg
5BCCL 2014
  • 15th June, 2014:  The Consul general applies to be present at court to ensure that the rights of the accused were respected. (since these are ‘in camera’ proceedings the public is not allowed at the hearings.) . The court allows them to be present. Following this, a member of the consulate was always present in court. (that definitely put pressure on the courts too).

2012 – 2017 Photos of Pascal Mazurier appear on the internet.

C:\Users\Ananya\Desktop\Blank Noise\Pascal.jpg
6SouthLive.com
pascal_paplovesyou
7(Photo Courtesy: DNA, 2015)

war on fathers
8(Photo Courtesy: AFP, 2016)
Based on evidence found on the internet, Mazurier seems to have approached various organisations and Men’s Rights Activist groups to garner support.  He claims that he has been ‘framed’ by his wife, who was trying to ‘tarnish (his) career and reputation’ and stop him from leaving for South Africa on a posting.
 He has asked the police to investigate his wife and the actions that she has taken. He says he is a ‘loving father’ who wants to ‘be there’ for his children, and that his wife is trying to take them away from him. He has led several demonstrations demanding his rights of “fatherhood”.
The court refuses to discharge Mazurier, ruling there was sufficient evidence for him to face trial. Judge of the Special Court for child rights Shubha Gouder, framed charges against him, under IPC Section 376 .
On 25th December, 2015, after being granted permission, Mazurier visited his children in the presence of a supervisor.

4. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/519253/pascal-meet-daughter-xmas-wife.html

2017

  • 23rd April, 2017: Mazurier is acquitted for the case on the grounds that he was “falsely implicated” and was innocent. Judge BS Rekha rules that the child had not been abused at all, and that it was a urinary infection that was causing the pain. According to the verdict, Jones is using her child as a ‘weapon’ to stop her husband from leaving the country. Accusing her of being a ‘bad mother’, the verdict goes on to discuss details of Jones’s life, for example: "Her dress sense was objected (to) by the accused. She used to party at home and (has) also taken inappropriate photographs of herself in 2005 when her husband was not at home and the accused was not happy with her behaviour". Jones is determined to challenge this verdict in the Karnataka High Court.  

Timeline prepared by Ananya , Action Hero Intern at Blank Noise, June/ July 2017. Ananya is a student at Azim Premji University. 

Additional resources/ articles 




I Never Ask For It Writing Programme : Apply To Intern


We are offering an internship starting September 7th, 2016 towards the I Never Ask For Ittext series. Do apply and share this call in your networks too!

We seek Action Hero individuals who :
i) Are thorough on the discourse on sexual and gender based violence. Have a keen interest in tackling victim blame
ii) For whom word is medium. We are open to applications from a range of writing practices and form ( poetry, report, essay + )
iii) Those who identify, connect and feel passionate about Blank Noise's approach towards addressing sexual and gender based violence.
iv) In addition, we also seek individuals who can do outreach and community enabling work with university students.

The intern towards this programme could be located anywhere. The programme editor is based in Delhi- applications from Delhi and nearby are further encouraged, however, not the criteria.

Apply here : internship
Deadline: Sept 3rd, 2016

Unite To Eradicate Victim Blame : Invitation To Allies and Action Heroes








campaign overview


September 25th - October 1st 2016
I Never Ask For It Week
Unite To Eradicate Victim Blame
Invitation To Action Heroes and Allies
i) Step in , in an independent one ‘Action Heo’  capacity.
Duration: Short term one time engagement  with the option of extending duration and nature of association.
ii) Step in, influence, involve, create I Never Ask For It community:
Duration: Short to long term ( 3 months that can be extended depending on your availability )
  • Draw on your personal resources, networks and people around you. Start the conversation on victim blame and I Never Ask For It Clothes Project where you live, with communities that you are already part of . Eg neighbourhood, dance class, tution community) Reach out to self and those around you.
  • You can also take this forward would be to apply to volunteer or intern towards this five year campaign.
iii) Are you on campus ?  /  ( Or know someone who is?)
If sexism, rape culture, victim blame/ shame, sexual violence concerns , affects, angers or outrages you, you are very invited to the Action Hero Campus Network: A Network Of Campus Allies Committed To Building Ending Sexism, Patriarchy and Victim Blame.   
iv) Are you associated with an organisation working to end violence against women , girls and individuals across the sexualities/ gender spectrum?
The campaign invites and mobilizes communities, organizations and groups. both in India and globally, to step in and co create this vision. Nominate or add your organization/ community to the Global Feminist Network to End Victim Blame.

Attention Action Heroes Worldwide : Call To Volunteer/ Intern


We're on full gear preparing for the I  Never Ask For It campaign ; designed to tackle and arrest blame across spaces of sexual violence. 

With this we're creating a Global Action Hero Network. This is a call for new internships (duration 4 months) , and to volunteer (time involvement can be designed by you in collaboration with us)
  • You can volunteer/ intern from where you are geographically located
  • You are also welcome to work with us from our studio in Bangalore, India
  • We can match your area of interest / skills with campaign requirements
  • Last day for application October 15th
  • We will get back to you by November 1st, 2014

Please do write to us at blurtblanknoise@gmail.com incase of any questions. 
If you have already volunteered with BN in the past and would like to re connect,  we would be thrilled to have you back!

There is no application criteria and we've been built 100% by Action Heroes, i.e you.

Do forward this to those interest, encourage people around you to apply. Yes we want Action Hero Grandmas to apply too!

We're currently particularly seeking individuals with an interest in video editing, sound editing, 
illustration, comics, communication design ( web and print) , programming, research , multi lingual skills, fund raising. 

Have stated that, one of our recent interns from Bangalore did none of the above, and chose to work with the police.
Another set of volunteers / Action Heroes include law students from Kolkata.  
A new Action Hero has moved to Bangalore from Norway and is taking the deep plunge into a participatory research project that is part of the campaign. We will be sharing internship and volunteer contributed projects shortly.

In solidarity,
Blank Noise Team 

Hurray Action Hero Ameya Gutta!

Ameya Gutta
Action Hero Profile
Intern: October 2013 – present
I’m Action Hero Ameya and I’ve been with Blank Noise in varying capacities since I was 10 years old. Now 20, I’m in my final year of college studying towards a Bachelors Degree in Psychology, Literature and Journalism and an official intern at Blank Noise. Currently, I’m working towards establishing a college network of action heroes, so students across cities can communicate, collaborate and create. If you’re a student who likes to have fun while being committed and driven, shout out to blurtblanknoise@gmail.com subject titled “Attention Ameya”
My embodiment of an Action Hero is someone who participates in standing up to street sexual harassment by engaging in and generating public discourse around the topic. Having played the Action Hero Game, I discovered new meaning to being an Action Hero - someone who is unlearning fear. My entire experience with Blank Noise can be summed up as a process of unlearning fear and embracing rightful freedom.
To me, the most motivational idea was that of reclaiming public space and building safe cities. As a community led public art project, Blank Noise doesn’t define that this is what needs to be done, it allows people to interpret street sexual harassment the way they experienced it and come up with strategies to counter it. The Action Heroes blog records many such testimonies of action heroes who are spread out geographically and are culturally diverse. Compiling and putting up the testimonials was one of the tasks I was assigned in my first week and I approached it with a great deal of enthusiasm. I expected that reading so many personal stories would help me become fearless but it was quite the opposite. I became depressed and more fearful than ever but after a while I began to feel stronger. By the end of it, I realized I no longer felt alone, that there were people out there who experienced harassment and were feeling guilty, shameful, and scared as a result when they shouldn’t be and they were sick of it. Out of this collective feeling of rage emerged a sense of solidarity.

Organizing the subsequent Action Hero games is hectic but lots of fun. Compiling each players responses and mapping out their locations keeps adding to my own learning from playing the game. The responses from the action heroes post this endurance game is the best part, the positivity and the change brought about in them, however big or small.
My personality being more inclined towards research than field work, I’m working on bringing back to life an old Blank Noise project, ‘Reporting to Remember’ which is an archiving of attacks on women in the name of religion, culture and politics. I’m building a team to take this forward and if you would like to be a part of it, just email blurtblanknoise@gmail.com. Currently the focus is on archiving attacks that have taken place in 2013 to tie into another project ‘I Never Ask For It’. My other areas of research interests are representation of women and sexual violence in the media, gender and sexuality, prevention of child sexual abuse and cultural studies.

 About Action Hero Profile:
Countless Action Heroes have anonymously built and shaped Blank Noise over the past decade. Starting this November, we will be sharing their relationship with the collective in a new segment called Action Hero Profiles

If you have volunteered, interned and or contributed to Blank Noise in any which way, we would love to share your story. Please write in at blurtblanknoise@gmail.com

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