Prosecutor tries to play in court sex tape of British teenager who said she was gang raped

Nineteen-year-old woman arrested for public mischief after allegedly lying about attack

A British teenager is escorted into a vehicle outside the Famagusta courthouse after a custody hearing in Paralimni, Cyprus. (EPA/Katia Christodoulou)

A prosecutor has dropped a bid to play a video in court showing a British teenager engaged in sexual activity on the night she claims she was gang raped.

The 19-year-old woman, who cannot be identified, has been accused of causing public mischief by allegedly lying about being attacked in an Ayia Napa hotel room, in Cyprus, on 17 July.

She retracted her statement 10 days later and the 12 young Israeli men who were arrested in connection with the claims returned home after their release.

However the woman’s lawyers say police exerted pressure on her to change her statement by threatening her and her friends with arrest when she was interrogated without a lawyer until 2am.

Cypriot authorities strongly deny the retraction was coerced, saying that she volunteered it in writing.

The teenager spent four-and-a-half weeks in prison before she was granted bail at the end of August, but cannot leave the island, which is popular with British holidaymakers.

She arrived at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni on Tuesday dressed in black and wearing a cap and a scarf to cover her face.

A projector was brought into the court as prosecutor Adamos Demosthenous asked to play a video of the teenager found on some of the 11 phones confiscated from members of the Israeli group.

He asked to show the clip in closed court as he questioned phone expert Spyros Nicolau, but Ritsa Pekri, defending, objected, saying it would be dangerous for the woman’s psychological health if it was played in front of her.

The video, timed at 02.56am on 17 July, is said to have shown the woman involved in sexual activity with one man as others tried to enter the room.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, the teenager told a judge investigators, led by Detective Sergeant Marios Christou, said that police had videos which showed she had consensual group sex.

She said: “I asked to see the videos because I didn’t know they existed.

“He said that wasn’t possible, but he had studied them and it was very clear there was no rape.”

The woman said she was “crying” because she “didn’t understand what was going on” and, when she asserted her right to a lawyer, was told: “Maybe in the UK, not here.”

She added: “I was messaging my mum, I was messaging my friends, saying they are forcing me to sign these false statements. I need help.

“I said I was really scared because I didn’t think I would leave that police station without signing that statement.”

The teenager maintains she was raped by members of the Israeli group.

At a hearing earlier this month a court heard one of the Israelis had told police in a statement the group had earlier talked about having sex with her in a “very bad and aggressive way”.

If the woman is found guilty, she could face up to a year in jail and a €1,700 (£1,500) fine.

The trial, listed for three days this week, continues on Wednesday.

Additional reporting by Press Association