The Cyprus Supreme Court on Monday overturned the conviction of a young British woman who had been found guilty of lying about being gang-raped by up to 12 Israeli tourists.
Defence lawyers successfully argued there had been a miscarriage of justice when a district court in January 2020 found her guilty of public mischief and handed her a suspended four-month jail term.
The woman, now aged 21, had in July 2019 told police she had been raped by the Israeli tourists, aged 15 to 22, in a hotel room in the Mediterranean island’s resort town of Ayia Napa.
She was charged after she retracted her initial complaint, but later said she had been pressured to do so by local police.
The woman’s family in a statement Monday asked that the rape case be re-investigated for “true justice” to be served.
Around 40 activists protested outside the court with banners saying “I believe her” and “end rape culture” and clapped when they heard the court’s ruling.
The UK-based group Justice Abroad had assisted the woman, who did not attend Monday’s hearing, and her family in their legal battle.
“This is a watershed moment,” the group’s Michael Polak, who co-ordinated the appeal, said in a statement.
He added that the woman “has always maintained her innocence, even when doing so caused her the hardship of not being able to return home during the lengthy trial proceedings.
“We have always maintained that our client was not given a fair trial, and today the Supreme Court of Cyprus has agreed with us.”
He added that “important fair trial provisions, which are in place to prevent miscarriages of justice, were totally disregarded in this case.
“A young and vulnerable woman was not only mistreated when she reported the rape to the police but she was just put through a trial process that was manifestly unfair as the Supreme Court has recognised.”
– ‘Great relief’ –
Lawyers said the woman was “shouted at and treated with contempt during the original trial”.
“It became clear to those watching that the defence was fighting these proceedings with one hand tied behind our back and that a decision had been made as to guilt from the start of the trial process,” said Polak.
During the hearing, before a three-judge bench, the defence team expanded on their detailed 154-page argument to explain to the court why the conviction was unsafe.
The woman, who was 19 at the time of her arrest, has accused Cypriot police of having forced her to sign a retraction statement, after which the Israeli suspects were released.
Justice Abroad said she was suffering from post-traumatic stress and that her retraction, taken after she had spent almost seven hours in a police station without a lawyer present, “should never have been admitted” into evidence.
Polak said Cyprus police had failed to download data from suspects’ phones. It is alleged the Israelis filmed the alleged sexual assault on their mobile phones.
“We are pleased that our team has managed to secure this result against the odds and believe that the next step for justice to be done in this case is a full review and investigation by a different police force of the rape complaint put forward by our client,” said Polak.
The woman’s family welcomed the decision with “great relief” in a statement.
“Whilst this decision doesn’t excuse the way she was treated, it does bring with it the hope that my daughters’ suffering will at least bring positive changes in the way that victims of crime are treated,” it said.
“Of course, if justice is to be done, an authority would need to pick up on the evidence that was gathered in Cyprus.”
Defence Lewis Power QC said: “We hope that this decision will have far-reaching implications in the pursuit of justice for other victims of sexual assault.
“We commend the Cypriot Supreme Court for having the courage and wisdom to deliver this judgement.”
