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Cyprus rape case: British teenager given suspended sentence Cyprus rape case: British teenager to challenge sentence
(about 2 hours later)
Nineteen-year-old woman convicted of lying will not go to prison and can return to UK Nineteen-year-old woman has vowed to go all the way to ECHR to clear her name
A British teenager who was convicted of lying about being gang-raped has been sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for three years. She was also fined €140 (£119) but is free to return home. A British teenager convicted of falsely accusing 12 Israelis of gang-rape in Cyprus has vowed to go all the way to the European court of human rights to clear her name after receiving a suspended prison sentence on the island.
The 19-year-old student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was ruled to have “wilfully indulged in public mischief” by claiming she was raped by a group of male Israeli tourists while on holiday in Ayia Napa last July. The 19-year-old student, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for three years, on Tuesday.
The tourists, aged between 15 and 22, were allowed to fly home after she allegedly retracted the complaint. Pronouncing he would give the student “a second chance”, the judge Michalis Papathanasiou said the Briton could effectively walk free.
“I have decided to give her a second chance,” the judge, Michalis Papathanasiou, told the packed courtroom, citing her age, psychological state and dependency on anti-depressants. “The defendant has expressed regret,” he told the packed court in Paralimni as the chants of Cypriot and Israeli protestors gathered outside the building filtered through the chamber. “I have decided to give her a second chance given her age, psychological state and immaturity.”
The woman hugged her family and legal team and left court weeping, with her head in her hands, after she was sentenced for public mischief. On hearing she had been spared prison there were hugs, tears and expressions of relief in the courtroom. Throughout, the teenager stood motionless in the dock, her head bent slightly as she listened to an interpreter.
Before the sentencing, dozens of protesters gathered outside Famagusta district court in Paralimni. They included a group of women who had travelled from Israel, who chanted “Cyprus justice, shame on you”, “stop blaming the victim” and “you are not alone”. Some held placards reading “we believe you” and “don’t be afraid”. But the suspended sentence will do little to allay what her lawyers described as an “incredibly sad and tragic case” for a young woman whose crime had been to report the sexual assault while on holiday in Ayia Napa last July.
The teenager’s mother said: “On behalf of the family, I would like to say we are very relieved at the sentence that has been passed down today. I would also like to say thank you for all the support we have received throughout the globe.” The Briton turned from victim to suspect overnight when, in now greatly disputed circumstances, she withdrew the rape complaint following eight hours of police questioning in the notorious party town.
Addressing applauding supporters, she added: “I just want to thank each and every one of you for turning up today, having belief, having faith and making sure we get justice.” Within hours of the retraction, the Israelis she accused of gang-rape, aged between 15 and 22 with most about to enter the army as conscripts, were allowed to fly home. Further investigation into the claims was dropped, with the Briton being forced to spend a month in Nicosia general prison before being granted bail on condition she surrendered her passport.
The woman’s British lawyer, Lewis Power QC, who was in court, said: “Whilst we welcome the fact that the sentence imposed today allows her to go home, we strongly contest the conviction and the fight for her innocence will go on regardless. In what had been a highly anticipated moment, Tuesday’s sentencing came a week after the teenager was convicted of wilfully indulging in public mischief for the offence of fabricating “an imaginary crime”. On the eve of the decision, speculation of a presidential pardon had mounted.
“We will be appealing the conviction and will take this case to the European court of human rights. Under the Mediterranean island’s penal code, the crime of fomenting public mischief is punishable by up to a year in prison with a penalty of as much as €1,708 (£1,450). The judge said the fine would be reduced to €140.
“We say and will maintain that this young girl was stripped both of her dignity and her basic human rights. She has been diagnosed with severe PTSD and this case has resulted in the deterioration of her mental health. The case had captivated international attention, far beyond the frequently bizarre court proceedings in a Cypriot town, with critics claiming it had illuminated the deficiencies of a system that failed to take reports of sexual assault seriously.
“This case has far-reaching repercussions for women travelling abroad and has highlighted the need for appropriate representation. This young woman has shown immense bravery, courage and fortitude in coming forward. “Whilst we welcome the fact that the sentence imposed today allows her to go home … the fight for her innocence will go on regardless,” said Lewis Power QC, declaring that the Briton’s four-strong legal team would contest the guilty conviction before Cyprus’ supreme court, and if necessary, the European court of human rights. “We say and will maintain that this young girl was stripped both of her dignity and basic human rights … This case has highlighted a gaping chasm in the specialised treatment of sexual assault victims in Cyprus,” he said.
“Her identity has been compromised, she has been trolled viciously on social media and has been subjected to vile comments. Some of those who perpetrated this serious sexual assault returned to their homeland bragging triumphantly and unashamedly as to what they had done to her, compounding her trauma.” Women’s groups spurred into action in Cyprus had been emboldened by the backing of outraged Israelis who also flew in to add their voice to protests outside the court. Many described Tuesday’s outcome as a “superficial victory”, fully endorsing the teenager’s pledge to take her battle to Europe’s highest tribunal.
A close friend of the family, sitting next to the teenager’s mother in court, said: “I suppose she is relieved to be going home but she will appeal.” Several Israeli men appalled by the student’s treatment were among them. Donning a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Our sister I believe you”, Yuval Newman said he had been so “angry and shocked” over last week’s guilty verdict he had decided to fly into Cyprus with his 16-year-old son to show his disquiet.
The family is likely to fly back to the UK on Tuesday. “To put all the blame on this young woman is so wrong,” said the 48-year-old who works with disabled people in his country. “So much needs to change in Israel around the way teenagers treat women. I have brought my son with me in the hope that he will learn from this and go away knowing that women need to be treated properly.”
The British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, said he had raised concerns over her treatment with the Cypriot authorities, after the teenager’s conviction provoked outrage in Cyprus and the UK. The Briton, whose mother said wanted to become a police officer, had been due to start studying criminology at university in the autumn. Since the alleged attack – described by the teenager as having occurred when she was having consensual sex with one member of the group – she has suffered severe post-traumatic stress disorder and has been taking anti-depressants.
Although Cyprus’s president, Nicos Anastasiades, had been kept fully briefed of the case, the teenager’s senior Cypriot lawyer said it was very unlikely he would intervene given the sentence had been suspended. In the quest to prove her innocence, an expedited appeal request will be lodged with the island’s supreme court by 17 January to ensure the case is heard within six months, her senior Cypriot lawyer, Nicoletta Charalambidou, said.
“There is now no need for a presidential pardon,” Nicoletta Charalambidou said. “We are all relieved that she will not have to go to prison and happy that the sentence is suspended and she can get on with her life and take care of her mental health, but we will pursue the appeal in an effort to have a final positive acquittal decision.” “We are all relieved that she will not have to go to prison and happy that the sentence is suspended, and she can get on with her life and take care of her mental health,” she said. “But we will pursue the appeal in an effort to have a final, positive acquittal decision.”
The team will submit an expedited appeal request by 17 January to ensure the case is heard within six months. If efforts to clear her name fail at that stage they will go to the European court of human rights. Indicative of the diplomatic dimensions the case has assumed, Boris Johnson’s spokesman said on Tuesday: “Throughout this case our focus has been on ensuring the young woman can return home. We’re very pleased this can now happen. We hope she and her family will now be given space and privacy so they can start rebuilding their lives.”
Protesters outside the court described the outcome as a “superficial victory”. The spokesman said the Foreign Office would work with Cyprus and other countries on how to avoid similar cases in the future, but reiterated that the UK government had “numerous concerns about the judicial process of this case and the woman’s right to a fair trial”, and had raised these with Cyprus.
“Today does not dispel what is a very sad and very bad result, the conviction of the girl,” said Argentoula Ioannou, an activist lawyer who helped organise the protest. The foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, expressed relief that the “vulnerable young lady” was about to return home after a harrowing six months that had elapsed since she first reported the incident.
“The judgment is a result of the deficiencies of the police investigation system and the specific way the police handled the complaint of the girl. Instead of investigating the complaint, and collecting the relevant evidence, they chose not to believe her and focus all their efforts on proving she was not being honest and that, as we all know, allowed the Israeli boys to ultimately return home.” “I understand quite how much she’s been through and what her family’s been through,” he told reporters following the court decision. “We will be following up on some issues in relation to the case … There is the broader issue for Brits travelling not just in Cyprus or in the EU, but travelling abroad, whether it’s on holiday, whether it’s backpacking, and making sure they can do so as safely and securely as possible.”
Several Israeli men also joined female protesters who had flown in overnight from Jerusalem to Cyprus. President Nicos Anastasiades’ administration had repeatedly said it could not interfere in the independent workings of the courts. Loudest among the protest chants heard as Judge Papathanasiou read out his decision was “Cyprus justice, shame on you”.
One of them, Yuval Newman, said he had been so “angry and shocked” over last week’s guilty verdict he had decided to travel to the island with his 16-year-old son. Verity Nevitt, who organised a demonstration through London in solidarity with the teenager, called the Cypriot authorities’ handling of the case “farcical”. She added: “Today the judge proved that he is unfit to judge cases of sexual violence, he should be recalled from the role.“I am angry that the UK have behaved so pitifully in protecting one of their own, one who is already so vulnerable and in desperate need of support. Britain should have said no Briton is taking part in this farce of a judicial system and we are not allowing this joke trial to continue where a victim is being tried as a criminal.”
“To put all the blame on this young woman is so wrong,” he said. “So much needs to change in Israel around the way teenagers treat women.
“I am very happy that she is going home but there is no doubt in my mind about what those Israeli kids did. That they should have been let free is unbelievable. I have brought my son with me in the hope that he will learn from this and go away knowing that women need to be treated properly.”
Verity Nevitt, who organised a demonstration through London on Monday in solidarity with the teenager, called the Cypriot authorities’ handling of the case farcical. She added: “Today the Judge proved that he is unfit to judge cases of sexual violence, he should be recalled from the role.“I am angry that the UK have behaved so pitifully in protecting one of their own, one who is already so vulnerable and in desperate need of support. Britain should have said no Briton is taking part in this farce of a judicial system and we are not allowing this joke trial to continue where a victim is being tried as a criminal.”