Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

The young woman from Derbyshire has not been named. PA Images

British teenager convicted of lying over Cyprus rape returns to UK vowing to clear her name

The 19-year-old woman was handed a four-month jail term, suspended for three years.

A BRITISH TEENAGER found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus has arrived back in the UK – vowing to clear her name.

The 19-year-old woman was handed a four-month jail term, suspended for three years, by a judge yesterday who said he was giving her a “second chance”.

She hugged her family and legal team and left Famagusta District Court in Paralimni weeping, with her head in her hands, after she was sentenced for public mischief.

Her mother shouted “She’s coming home” to supporters outside before flying with her daughter to Heathrow Airport on last night.

Lewis Power QC, the teenager’s lawyer, said her legal team would be challenging her conviction and were prepared to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

The young woman, from Derbyshire, told the Sun: “I am innocent and the fight will go on to clear my name.

It’s been a nightmare for me, Mum and everyone. Now I just want to be with my friends and family. What kept me going was my family and the amazing support of my friends and all other people who got in contact to say they believed me.

The teenager was stuck on the Mediterranean island for almost five months after claiming she was raped by up to 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in the town of Ayia Napa on 17 July.

She was charged and spent about a month in prison before being granted bail in August.

The dozen young men and boys, aged between 15 and 20, arrested over the incident were freed after she signed a retraction statement 10 days later.

But she maintains she had consensual sex with one of the Israelis before he pinned her down and raped her with others – a claim all of them deny.

The woman said she was forced to change her account under pressure from Cypriot police following hours of questioning alone and without legal representation.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he has raised concerns over her treatment with the Cypriot authorities, after the teenager’s conviction provoked outrage in Cyprus and the UK.

After the sentence, he said: “We will be following up on some of the issues in relation to the case. I spoke to the Cypriot foreign minister about that.”

The teenager’s family had raised fears that she would suffer permanent damage to her mental health if she was sent to prison, having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

But Judge Michalis Papathanasiou told the court he would not be jailing her, despite insisting that all the evidence suggested she was guilty.

Sentencing her, he told the packed courtroom: “Her psychological state, her youth, that she has been away from her family, her friends and academic studies this year … this has led me to decide to give her a second chance and suspend the sentence for three years.”

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Author
Nora Creamer
Close
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds