Cyprus rape case: Appeal hearing for British teen scheduled next month

The appeal hearing will see the defense arguing that the conviction against the woman be disregarded as it was signed without a lawyer present.

Protestors supporting a British woman found guilty of lying in a rape case in Cyprus, take part in a march in London, Britain, January 6, 2020. (photo credit: REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE)
Protestors supporting a British woman found guilty of lying in a rape case in Cyprus, take part in a march in London, Britain, January 6, 2020.
(photo credit: REUTERS/TOBY MELVILLE)

The alleged victim of a gang rape in Cyprus in 2019 at the hands of a group of Israelis will be attending an appeal hearing on September 16 in Cyprus. 

The young British woman was found guilty of public mischief after retracting her report of gang rape, which she later claimed she was pressured to do.

The hearing will be heard in the Supreme Court of Cyprus on September 16, according to Cypriot media.

In July of 2019, the then-19-year-old woman filed a report with the police, stating that she had been attacked by up to 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel.
However, 10 days later she signed a retraction and was charged with public mischief for filing a false complaint, although she has continued to maintain in court that she was pressured to withdraw the allegations.
In January 2020, she was found guilty and handed a four-month prison sentence with a three-year delay.
The appeal hearing in September will see the defense arguing that the conviction is unsafe and should be disregarded, primarily because the retraction was given by a teenager suffering from PTSD, and was signed without a lawyer present.
Cyprus has been consistently criticized for the mishandling of cases of sexual harassment, assault and rape, with victims walking clean in the past.
The Israeli men who were cleared when the British teen retracted her claim plead not guilty at the time and were welcomed back into Israel with open arms, carrying Israeli flags on their backs. The event received widespread criticism in Israeli media.