British woman’s rape case to be taken to ECHR

The legal team of the British woman who alleges that she was gang raped in Ayia Napa in 2019 is taking the case to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

The woman’s lawyer, Michael Polak QC, told Britain’s MailOnline that they are seeking to fight the case at the ECHR after Cypriot authorities did not re-investigate the case, despite the supreme court overturning the woman’s conviction in January.

The infamous case had a series of twists and turns which saw the accuser become the accused, as she told Ayia Napa police in July 2019 that she had been raped by a group of Israeli tourists – but was then charged when she retracted her initial complaint, a little over a week later.  She was subsequently handed a suspended four-month prison sentence in January 2020 after being found guilty of public mischief, for falsely reporting that she was raped.

“The girl and her family had hoped that this [supreme court decision] would lead authorities in Cyprus to re-investigate the case so justice could be done but they have decided not to do so and that has left us disappointed,” Polak told the MailOnline.

She has since maintained she was pressured by the authorities to withdraw her statement. Her team of lawyers issued an appeal to the supreme court in a bid to clear her name and demand fair trial provisions.

Her team said she was held for six hours at the police station without a lawyer, suffering from PTSD and without a translator. There was also no recording of her questioning.

“In Cyprus, the decision of the attorney general to initiate or discontinue criminal prosecutions is not subject to any appeal or review,” Polak said, adding that: “As such, there are no domestic remedies available to our client to challenge the attorney general’s decision not to order a proper investigation into the rape complaint.”

Polak further explained that their grounds for taking the case to the ECHR is centred on the argument that the woman’s rights under article three, six and eight of the convention were breached. The reasoning is that local authorities’ investigation into the initial claim was at such a low standard that it amounts to a violation of Cyprus’ obligation to thoroughly investigate and subsequently prosecute sexual crimes.

The 12 Israeli youths were detained for questioning but swiftly released after the woman withdrew her accusation, prompting celebrations when they arrived at the airport back home.

They were not required to give any evidence at the woman’s trial because the case was focused on whether she had misled authorities and issued a false statement, rather than the alleged rape itself.

The supreme court heard that while the judge in question allowed prosecution to prove there was no rape, he did not allow the defence to prove that there was.

Michael Polak of the campaign group Justice Abroad was not immediately available for comment when contacted by the Cyprus Mail.