Cyprus attorney general urged to revoke conviction of British teenager accused of lying about gang rape

Cyprus’s attorney general has been urged to revoke the conviction of a British teenager accused of lying about being gang-raped, with former prosecutors saying the verdict has done “considerable damage” to the country.

The 19-year-old woman from Derbyshire is facing a year in jail on a charge of “public mischief” after a judge ruled on Monday that she lied to police when she accused 12 Israeli men of raping her in her hotel room in Ayia Napa in July.

Petros Clerides and Alecos Markides, two former attorney generals in Cyprus, have sent a joint letter alongside former justice minister Kypros Chrisostomides to Costas Clerides, asking him to intervene in the case.

Mr Markides said that it had not been in the public interest to go after the teenager and in doing so, the country – a European Union member – has taken a blow.

“The considerable damage done to the public interest is that such a case has received extensive publicity as the legal system appears to be crushing a 19-year-old tourist, leaving her stranded in Cyprus for five months,” he told local Politis radio.

“A girl with no criminal record, who had never committed any criminal offence, forbidding her to leave the country, forcing her to resort to public fundraising in order to survive. This rigidness of the court has provoked an international reaction,” said Mr Markides.

The woman, who had her passport confiscated, has not been able to leave the island since the alleged gang-rape on July 17 and was not able to take up her place at university in September.

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She will be sentenced on January 7.

The concerns raised by the former attorney generals came after the UK Government made an unprecedented threat to intervene over “serious concerns” about the woman’s treatment.

The Foreign Office said the UK is seriously concerned about the fair trial guarantees in this “deeply distressing case and we will be raising the issue with the Cypriot authorities.”

Attorney General Clerides, however, said such an interference from his office would signal an obstruction of justice.  

“The defendant made serious allegations against the investigating authorities of the Republic, allegations which concerned the issue of the voluntariness of her statement, and should not be left hanging in the air,” he said in a statement released on Tuesday. “She was judged by the Court of Justice and that was that.” 

A Cyprus government spokesman added that it had “full confidence in the justice system” and the “courts of the Republic of Cyprus, which should be left unfettered to implement state laws and deliver justice.”

The verdict has sparked an international outcry, with British holidaymakers threatening a boycott of the Mediterranean island.

The #IbelieveHer and #BoycottCyprus hashtag erupted on social media, while donations to fund the teenager’s appeal soared.

Supporters have donated more than £25,000 on the family’s GoFundMe page since the verdict was passed on Monday morning, bringing the total to £75,000.

The woman’s father said the donations and continued support “mean the world to our daughter” and urged people to “keep spreading the message far and wide”.

The family said they planned to first appeal the verdict in Cyprus, but were prepared to take it all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

“We haven’t had the best of days – a very disappointing verdict. But based on our experience to date, our expectations were low when we arrived this morning,” the woman’s father wrote on the page.

The Derbyshire woman, whom The Telegraph has chosen not to name, said on Monday she was not surprised by the judgement, delivered at Famagusta court in the town of Paralimni.

“I am entirely dedicated to seeking true justice — and not just for my case,” she told The Sun.

“I have been contacted by many who have been through similar experiences. This fight is for them and many more who have been forced to remain silent.”

The then 18-year-old student told Cypriot police in July that she was raped by up to 12 Israeli youths in the island’s party town of Ayia Napa, having been held down by others as she had consensual sex with one.

She later retracted her statement but claimed she did so under pressure from detectives after eight hours of questioning which was not recorded or carried out in front of a lawyer.

Turning from victim to defendant overnight, she was charged with “public mischief” for allegedly lying to police.

A member of the teenager’s legal team said the case had alarming ramifications for other young women who may find themselves the victims of sexual assault or rape in Cyprus.

“This judgment says that if you are a young girl and you go on holiday to Cyprus, if you are raped you may not be taken seriously,” said Lewis Power QC.

“They are really in the Dark Ages. I would not want my 16-year-old daughter going there. I wouldn’t want her going to Ayia Napa having seen how victims are treated. It’s gravely worrying.

“I think there needs to be a complete overhaul of the law in Cyprus to bring it into line with modern legal systems. This case could be the catalyst.”

The British woman’s lawyers are hoping that when the sentence is announced next week, she will be given a suspended prison term.

“We hope that time served, both in prison and on bail, will be taken into account and she will be given a suspended sentence. She spent a grueling four and a half weeks in a prison cell which she shared with eight other women. It really took its toll on the young girl.

“I have spoken to her and her mother. She is very disappointed but she’s also very resolute. She is a young girl who has been through the most dreadful of all ordeals. But she’s fighting back,” said Mr Power.

“We are very confident that we can take this further, although the wheels of justice move very slowly in Cyprus,” said Mr Power.