Barbie Trial -- Day 17 -- A witness testifies

15:48 A witness, Mrs. Francine Gudefin, testifies; she describes torture carried out by Francis André and by Barbie, and being forced to watch her brother being waterboarded; the witness describes a serious injury to her ear, as well as to her vertebral column; she describes the "chambre des torturés" (room of the tortured people) in the basement of the Gestapo headquarters at Place Bellecourt; description of an injury sustained during torture which left her face permanently disfigured 16:07 President Cerdini asks the witness how many times she was interrogated, and whether Barbie ever explicitly told her that she would be deported; she describes the circumstances of her departure on August 11, 1944, and confirms Barbie's presence at the train station; she claims that Barbie interrogated her inside the train while it traveled from Lyon to Dijon; she describes her deportation to Ravensbrück and her long convalescence in a Russian hospital 16:26 The Attorney General asks the witness to explain how she identified Barbie; reads a previous statement given by the witness in which she did not identify Barbie as her interrogator 16:29 Prosecutor Iannucci reads a statement given by Barbie in which he denied ever being present at a deportation; Iannucci reads a list of 10 witnesses and victims who have testified to seeing Barbie at their deportation 16:30 Prosecutor Zelmati asks the witness whether the torture inflicted by Francis André was on Barbie's order; she replies that it was 16:32 Defense attorney Vergès comments on the contradictions between different testimonies given by the witness regarding her interactions with Barbie; her comments are discussed by Vergès, Cerdini, and the Attorney General 16:41 Prosecutor Jakubowicz comments that there is no ambiguity regarding the witness' confrontation with Barbie on November 15, 1944; Mrs. Gudefin comments on the subject of that conversation 16:45 Vergès comments that Mrs. Gudefin's testimony varies with each repetition 16:45 President Cerdini suspends the hearing 16:46 End of tape