Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Ayia Napa: Woman convicted of Israeli gang rape lie wins appeal

Ayia Napa: Woman convicted of Israeli gang rape lie wins appeal

A British woman who reported being gang-raped in Cyprus has had her conviction for allegedly lying about the attack overturned.

The woman, then 19, told Cypriot police she had been raped by 12 Israeli men and boys in Ayia Napa in July 2019.

The Derbyshire teenager retracted the allegation after being held without a lawyer, and was then tried and convicted of causing public mischief.

Her conviction was overturned at the Supreme Court in Cyprus.

The woman's case had outraged women's rights campaigners, who gathered outside court ahead of the decision being handed down on Monday.

The appeal succeeded on the grounds that the original conviction for public mischief was unsafe.

Women's rights campaigners gathered outside the Supreme Court


The woman, who is now 21, did not have to serve her original four-month sentence in prison as it had been suspended by the judge.

However, barrister Michael Polak, from Justice Abroad, said she had wanted to get the conviction overturned in order to clear her name.

The woman's family now want the original rape allegations she made to be investigated, in order for her to get "true justice".

'Manifestly unfair'


Mr Polak, who co-ordinated the appeal against the conviction, said the teenager and her female lawyers had been shouted at and "treated with contempt" during the trial.

"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 said.

"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 then she was just put through a trial process that was manifestly unfair, as the Supreme Court has recognised."

Mr Polak said the trial judge had shouted "this is not a rape case" at least seven times when her female lawyers tried to put forward evidence that supported the woman's case that she had been raped.

The woman's legal team will now push for the original rape allegations to be investigated


In court - Anna Holligan, Foreign Correspondent


There were thumbs up, smiles and embraces on the wooden benches in courtroom one as the verdict was read out. On the steps outside, her lawyer told me he was "surprised" by the result.

Within the space of a few days the British student had gone from being treated as a victim to the accused.

During the trial I watched the vulnerable teenager subjected to intense cross-examination, and the judge's refusal to hear any reference to evidence of an alleged rape. Her legal team successfully argued she did not get a fair hearing.

The woman's mother, who spent days supporting her in court, said she hopes her daughter's suffering would at least bring positive changes in the way that victims of crime were treated.

The success of this appeal amounts to an indictment of the Cypriot authorities' handling of the original case.

Activists said it was a bittersweet victory. Her family agreed, adding that for true justice to be done, the rape allegation would now also have to be properly investigated.

Supporters described it as a victory for justice, but a travesty the case ever came this far.

In a statement, the woman's family said they were relieved the authorities in Cyprus had "recognised the flaws in their legal process".

"Whilst this decision doesn't excuse the way she was treated by the police or the judge or those in authority, it does bring with it the hope that my daughter's suffering will at least bring positive changes in the way that victims of crime are treated," they said.

"Of course, if justice is to be done, an authority would need to pick up on the evidence that was gathered in Cyprus and do with it what should have happened at the outset."

Cypriot lawyer Nicoletta Charalambidou, who is part of the legal team, said: "This is a very important day for women's rights and in particular for victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence in Cyprus.

"The acquittal by the Supreme Court... points to the failure of the authorities to effectively investigate the rape claims she reported. This is what we will now pursue."

The decision has been described as a "watershed moment"


The Israeli men and boys arrested over the incident, aged between 15 and 20 at the time, denied any wrongdoing, were freed and returned home.

The woman was sentenced in January 2020 and flew home to the UK immediately afterwards.

An appeal hearing was then held at the Cypriot Supreme Court on 16 September 2021.

Speaking after the decision was handed down four-and-a-half months later, Mr Polak said: "This is a watershed moment, not just for our client who 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, but also for others around the world in similar positions."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×