A British woman has been found guilty of lying about being gang raped by Israeli tourists in Cyprus.
In a case closely followed by rights groups, a district court in the town of Paralimni ruled the woman, aged 19 at the time, had lied about being sexually abused by 12 Israeli teenagers.
She told authorities that she had been gang-raped by the tourists in her hotel room at the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in mid-July.
Cyprus police said the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, later confessed to having made up the accusations and she was arrested on suspicion of “public mischief”.
The woman has said she recanted her accusation under duress from police during persistent questioning without a lawyer present. The court dismissed that claim.
rosecutors claimed the defendant had fabricated the gang rape allegation as she was angry at having been filmed during sex.
A forensic pathologist said the woman’s injuries were consistent with rape.
The individuals she had accused of assaulting her were not summoned to court because prosecutors considered it a case of public mischief and not rape.
The woman has not been allowed to leave Cyprus after making the initial rape allegation in summer.
She has spent six months stuck in the country, including one month in prison in Nicosia, and had to remain over Christmas after the final verdict was delayed until 30 December.
Via The Independent
