Cyprus gang rape case: Woman appeals against conviction for lying

The woman covered her face as she arrived at a previous hearing in January 2020

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

Her legal team told the Cypriot Supreme Court that her statement retracting the gang rape allegation was unreliable because of how it was obtained.

She was detained for more than six hours, they said, with no access to a lawyer or translator, and placed under extreme pressure.

Police deny violating her rights.

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The woman, who is 21 and from Derbyshire, originally told Cypriot police she had been raped by a group of 12 Israeli men and boys in Ayia Napa in July 2019.

After retracting the allegation she was then tried and convicted of causing public mischief.

She was given a four-month suspended sentence in January 2020, which meant she could return to the UK.

She did not attend the two-hour appeal hearing, which was conducted in Greek in front of a panel of three judges.

There was no ruling on the appeal today, and it could take as long as six months.

Activists held up banners as they demonstrated outside the Supreme Court in Nicosia

Speaking after the hearing, the woman's English barrister, Lewis Power QC, said: "This is the biggest case here in the last decade beyond a shadow of a doubt and the world is watching.

"It is so important for young women across the world. This case is a beacon."

Mr Power said he had spoken to the woman and her mother, who were "back in the UK watching from afar".

"She's bearing up really well. She is getting on with her life at university," he said.

"She is very anxious about the result but she is fairly upbeat and determined that this won't ruin her life."

Her case has attracted widespread publicity and dozens of protesters gathered outside the court building for the appeal hearing.

As they banged drums, chanted and clapped their hands, some held up banners reading "End rape culture" and "I believe her".

Activists chanted outside the Supreme Court as the appeal hearing was held

Adamos Demosthenous, representing the Cyprus attorney general, had argued 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.

They said as well as being placed under pressure with no lawyer or translator, she was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time as a result of the rape.

They also argued the retraction statement was not written by a native English speaker.

Her Cypriot lawyer, Nicoletta Charalambidou, 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, also did not allow the defendant to talk about the alleged rape, repeatedly saying: "This is not a rape trial."

Lewis Power QC (left) and Michael Polak of Justice Abroad spoke to media outside court

If the conviction is not overturned her legal team intends to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

After the hearing, Mr Power 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."

Michael Polak from Justice Abroad, which has been helping the woman, 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."