British 19-year-old sentenced in Ayia Napa false rape claim case

The teen has been spared jail and is returning home today


A 19-year-old British woman convicted of making a false rape claim in Ayia Napa has been given a four month sentence suspended for three years, and fined €140.

After a controversial trial, with evidence showing 35 bruises on her body and the British foreign secretary intervening to tell Cyprus to “do the right thing”, the woman will appeal against her conviction.

The judge told the woman she “deserves a second chance”.

The 19-year-old claimed she was gang raped on July 17th by a group of 12 Israeli men at Pambos Napa Rocks hotel, including one who she was in a relationship with.

The woman retracted her statement after seven hours of questioning by police without a lawyer present. She then made a statement exonerating the men, which her lawyers argued was made under duress.

The men, who all denied the allegations, flew home to Israel and were greeted by family singing “the Brit is a whore”.

Whilst on bail, the woman was not allowed to leave Ayia Napa.

In court, a linguist said the statement contained mistakes which suggested it was dictated to her by police.

The court was also shown photographs depicting 35 bruises on the woman’s body. A forensic pathologist said this was evidence she had been raped, however the judge dismissed these as jellyfish stings. Despite claiming she was held down by the shoulders during the attack, police took no pictures of the woman’s upper body.

During the trial, Cypriot and Israeli women protested in support of the Brit, whose mother says she suffers from PTSD after the alleged incident.

The woman and her mother will be returning to the UK today.

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