UK woman convicted of making up gang rape claims in Cyprus seeks to overturn verdict

The British woman convicted of making up gang rape claims in Cyprus is seeking to clear her name as she appealed the judgement at the country’s Supreme Court. The 21-year-old university student, from Derby, was said to be "anxious but upbeat" ahead of a ruling on the appeal, which could come in between one and six months' time. The then 19-year-old from Derby told police she was attacked by up to 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in Ayia Napa on July 17, 2019.

She was charged with public mischief after signing a retraction statement 10 days later and flew home from the holiday island hours after being handed a suspended four-month jail term.

The now 21-year-old university student, who has maintained she was pressured by officers to withdraw the rape allegation, has vowed to clear her name.

Her team of English and Cypriot lawyers argued the conviction is unsafe and should be set aside at the appeal to the Supreme Court, in Cyprus capital Nicosia, on Thursday.

The woman did not attending the hearing in front of a panel of three judges, including the English-born president Persefoni Panayi.

Adamos Demosthenous, representing the Cyprus attorney general, said the appeal should not be heard because the woman had criticised the trial judge in an ITV documentary, but the court ruled against the submission and heard the arguments.

The woman's lawyers said the retraction statement, which formed the basis of the prosecution case, should never have been admitted into evidence because it was made by a vulnerable teenager who had spent almost seven hours in a police station without a lawyer. Her Cypriot lawyer Nicoletta Charalambidou, also said the lower court started from the position that there was no rape and had misunderstood the offence of public mischief, which requires a false statement of a make-believe crime. She said the trial judge, Michalis Papathanasiou, did not allow the defendant to talk about the alleged rape, pointing to the seven times he said: "This is not a rape trial." He was also said to have ignored defence expert evidence and failed to consider police failures in investigating the rape allegations. Sentencing her last January, the judge said the evidence showed she had "lied" but added: "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." Speaking after the hearing, the woman's English barrister, Lewis Power QC, said: "I think it was a very fruitful hearing where the court asked very poignant questions, considered the legal arguments and identified the points which will ultimately decide this appeal. "We cannot pre-empt the decision of the court, but we were glad to see the court had given much thought and considerable consideration to a very, very difficult case."

Another member of the legal team, Michael Polak, added: "Without wanting to pre-judge the decision of the Supreme Court, we feel we were happy with the way proceedings went today and the way the judges engaged with our arguments." If the appeal fails, the lawyers plan to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which the woman's lawyers said found against Cyprus after a teenager was taken to a police station in Limassol and separated from his father before confessing to murder without a lawyer present. He said he had spoken to the woman and her mother, Mr Power said: "She's bearing up really well. She is getting on with her life at university. "She is very anxious about the result but she is fairly upbeat and determined that this won't ruin her life." The case has attracted widespread publicity and dozens of protesters gathered outside the court building, banging drums, chanting and clapping their hands. One banner read: "End rape culture" and another: "I believe her". Christina Kaili, from the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies, said: "The Cyprus justice system must comply with international conventions and make sure that victims have access to justice, protection and to feel that they are believed." The 12 Israeli young men and boys, aged between 15 and 20 at the time, arrested over the incident denied any wrongdoing, were freed and returned home