New York (AFP)

Presumed victims, lawyers, experts ... A dozen women will be at the heart of the trial of the film producer Harvey Weinstein, which opens on January 6 in New York.

Here is what we know about them.

- The accusers

- Mimi Haleyi: he is one of the only two alleged victims of Harvey Weinstein whose assault has given rise to criminal proceedings.

This former production assistant claims that the accused forced her to cunnilingus in her apartment in New York in July 2006, although she refused his advances several times.

"It was totally non-consensual," Miriam Haleyi, by her full name, said on MSNBC, recalling that she was menstruating at the time of the incident. "There is no way I wanted what happened."

- The second victim who brought Harvey Weinstein a criminal trial has remained anonymous: she accuses the New Yorker of having raped her, in March 2013, in a hotel room.

The defense has already produced a series of correspondences showing, according to it, that this woman had an ongoing romantic relationship with her alleged attacker for several years after the alleged facts.

- Annabella Sciorra: the actress seen in the series "The Sopranos" also claims to have been raped by Harvey Weinstein in 1993, at her home, after he had forced her to let him in.

If she did not reveal the assault until the end of October 2017, she claims that the producer did everything to prevent him from landing roles between 1993 and 1995.

The facts of which she says she was the victim are not prosecuted in this trial. But his testimony is crucial to the prosecution, which hopes to prove that Harvey Weinstein was guilty of "sexual predator" behavior by assaulting a series of women. If convicted on this count, he would risk life.

- Three other alleged victims could testify: Judge James Burke authorized the testimony of three additional women whose identity is not known.

One is said to have been raped by Harvey Weinstein in Beverly Hills in 2013. The exact nature of the other two incidents, which occurred in 2004 and 2005, is not known.

As with Annabella Sciorra, Harvey Weinstein is not being prosecuted for the facts alleged by these three women. They will only be there as witnesses.

- The lawyers

- Joan Illuzzi-Orbon, the prosecutor: assistant to the Manhattan prosecutor Cyrus Vance, she will lead the charge during the trial, with more than three decades of experience.

Before the start of the trial, she obtained the bail for the accused, whom she accused of taking liberties with her electronic surveillance.

In 2011, she led the team investigating Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the Sofitel incident. It recommended that the charges, ultimately brought, be dropped against the director of the International Monetary Fund.

- Donna Rotunno, leader of defense lawyers: this Chicago lawyer is known for having defended several men accused of sexual assault and for her pugnacity.

"When I interview someone at the hearing, I can go much further than a male lawyer," she told Chicago Magazine in February 2018. "He may be a great lawyer, but if he unleashes the same venom as me, he will look like a bully. "

- The experts

- Barbara Ziv, the expert: psychiatric specialist cited by the prosecution, this doctor testified at the trial of Bill Cosby. She explained the reasons that often lead victims of sexual assault to sometimes wait years to talk about what they suffered.

- Deborah Davis and Elizabeth Loftus, defense experts: these two psychology specialists have worked on memory disorders in people who claim to be victims of sexual assault.

- In the audience

Famous lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents two of Mr. Weinstein's accusers, will be in the audience to support them. Activists from the #MeToo and Time's Up movements are also expected.

If none of the superstars who accused Mr. Weinstein of harassing or assaulting them, such as Ashley Judd, Gwyneth Paltrow or Angelina Jolie, are expected to appear, some - such as Rosanna Arquette - have scheduled to attend certain hearings.

© 2020 AFP