Judge rules against 19-year-old British woman jailed for ‘falsifying gang rape allegations’ in Cyprus

Teen claims she was gang-raped by group of young Israeli men at hotel in Ayia Napa

A British teenager accused of falsifying gang rape allegations is set to go on trial in Cyprus after a court rebuffed her claims police forced her into withdrawing the allegations.

The 19-year-old woman, who claims she was gang-raped by a group of young Israeli men at a hotel in the Cypriot party resort Ayia Napa in July, has said she was made to sign a confession withdrawing the complaint.

The young woman, whose identity cannot be revealed unless she is found guilty, was jailed for four and a half weeks in a prison in the capital of Nicosia over the summer that has been criticised for overcrowding and degrading treatment.

She is now facing jail due to being charged with “public mischief” – an offence which carries a prison sentence of up to a year.

The lawyers of the teen, who has pleaded not guilty, say she was raped and her retraction should not be allowed to be used as evidence because investigators exerted pressure on her and threatened her and her friends with arrest.

Her lawyers have not succeeded in getting the evidence thrown out and Judge Michalis Papathanasiou ruled police acted properly and the retraction statement is admissible to be used as evidence.

The judge rejected allegations the teen had been pressured to rescind her rape complaint, according to The Telegraph.

He said: “The statement was not taken under pressure or improper conditions. The statement was given wilfully. I don’t find anything suspicious.”

The judge has said the defence witnesses are unreliable and dismissed the evidence provided by UK experts.

He dismissed evidence from a Manchester University language specialist who claimed a native English speaker could not have written the retraction statement and a UK psychologist who argued the young woman had been experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Cypriot authorities claim the teen, who has missed out on her place at university due to the ordeal, voluntarily admitted in writing to falsely accusing the Israelis.

Last month, a Cypriot court heard a group of young Israeli men were “aggressively” planning to have sex with the woman. The men were heard plotting in a “very bad way” to “do orgies” with the teenager, the court in Paralimni was told.

The woman has not been able to return to the UK due to surrendering travel documents to police and having to make frequent appearances at the police station.

The trial continues.

Additional reporting by Press Association