British woman's appeal to Cypriot justice - Convicted of false rape complaint

The appeal of the young British woman who was convicted last January of a false report of rape by 12 Israelis in Ayia Napa in July 2019 is filed in the Supreme Court of Nicosia on Thursday.

According to the Daily Telegraph, the young woman's British and Cypriot lawyers will argue in a 70-page memo that the sentencing and subsequent four-month suspension with suspension of their client was "extremely unreliable" and should be overturned.

They emphasize that as long as the sentence is valid, it destroys the future of a young woman who was ultimately the victim of a sexual assault.

The young woman from Darbyshire, England was 19 years old when she suffered the alleged rape. She later withdrew her complaint, but as she claims, under pressure and at the suggestion of the Cypriot police and without the presence of a lawyer.

The British lawyer of Michael Pollack states that "from the point of view of human rights, it is the most important case in Cyprus in the last ten years".

He added that the case "will determine whether basic guarantees of a fair trial, such as the right to be represented by a lawyer and to have a fair trial, are protected in Cyprus".

Mr. Polak also claims that there is a similar old case in Limassol with the confession of a young man without the presence of a lawyer, for which the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Cyprus, so there is a legal precedent.

According to the Telegraph, if the appeal does not lead to the reversal of the first instance decision, the young Briton's lawyers will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

Source: KYPE