A court in Cyprus found a 19 year old British woman guilty of public mischief on Monday, after she accused 12 Israeli men of raping her during a holiday trip to the resort town of Ayia Napa in July.
The woman has not been publicly identified. She told Cypriot police she was attacked in a hotel room, and the Washington Post reports she withdrew her statement about 10 days later. She was arrested on suspicion of making a false allegation and, according to the Washington Post, spent more than a month in custody before being granted bail in August. The men who were arrested were released without charge and returned home.
Her lawyers say police pressured her into retracting her statement after about seven hours of questioning without a lawyer present, and that she was experiencing post traumatic stress at the time. Lawyer Michael Polak of the group Justice Abroad, which is supporting her, told the BBC the conviction was “very worrying for a number of reasons.” Her family has raised more than $70,000 for her defense on a fundraising page.
Judge Michalis Papathanasiou ruled that her guilt had been “proven beyond reasonable doubt.” Al Jazeera reports the judge also said police acted properly and did not pressure her. During the trial, a pathologist testified that her injuries were consistent with an assault having taken place, and also raised concerns about gaps in the state pathologist’s report.
She faces up to a year in prison and a fine of about 1,700 euros, or roughly $1,900. Sentencing was set for Jan. 7, and rights groups have called for an investigation into how police and the media handled the case.
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