Cypriot authorities failed to investigate the original claims of a British woman who was later convicted of lying about being gang-raped on holiday there, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled.
The woman, who is now in her 20s, was 19 in the summer of 2019 when she claims she was raped by 12 Israeli men at a hotel in the party resort of Ayia Napa.
After retracting her statement 10 days later, she was charged with ‘public mischief’ for making the allegations. The woman, from Derbyshire, ended up spending more than a month in jail awaiting trial and was eventually given a suspended prison sentence.
She appealed her case at the Cypriot Supreme Court in Nicosia and got her conviction was quashed, with the judge ruling she had likely been forced into changing her statement and was not given a fair trial.
But the island’s attorney general refused to reopen the original case, leading her lawyers to take it to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg.
On Thursday the ECHR highlighted a “series of shortcomings by the investigative authorities” and ruled they “had fallen short of the state’s duty to effectively investigate the applicant’s allegations”.
The judgment adds that “certain biases concerning women in Cyprus…impeded the effective protection of [the woman’s] rights as a possible victim of gender-based violence”.
“The credibility of her allegations appeared to have been assessed through prejudicial gender stereotypes and victim-blaming attitudes,” it reads.
The court also ruled that the mishandling of the case constituted a violation of the woman’s right to a private and family life and awarded her €20,000 (£16,500) in damages and €5,000 (£4,100) in costs.
Michael Polak, the woman’s lawyer and director of the group Justice Abroad that has been supporting her, said: “This is a landmark decision for victims of sexual violence.
“The ruling reinforces the fundamental principle that allegations of sexual violence must be investigated thoroughly and fairly, without institutional obstruction.”
Speaking to Sky News, he added: “This will help in vindicating what she has been saying all along, but of course, these offences leave lifelong scars.
“So obviously we welcome the decision, but it’s a pity we had to take it all the way to the European Court of Human Rights to get some form of justice.”
He said that there was now an “obligation” for Cypriot authorities to “do the right thing” and launch a fresh investigation into the original rape claims, which his legal team says should be carried out by a separate police force.
During previous court hearings, Mr Polak’s team pointed out that the judge in the public mischief trial had repeatedly shouted “this is not a rape trial” and “I don’t want to hear evidence about rape” as she gave her testimony.
On Thursday, the ECHR judgment said that “the numerous times [the woman] had had to repeat what had happened to the authorities, and their failure to adopt a victim-sensitive approach, constituted evidence of re-victimisation”.
A woman holds a placard during a protest in support of the woman in London. Pic: Reuters
The case sparked concern about fair trial guarantees in Cyprus, with the Foreign Office vowing to raise the case with authorities there, and protests being held in support of the woman in Cyprus, London, and elsewhere.
All 12 of the original suspects were freed without charge and allowed to return to Israel. They denied the allegations against them.
The Cypriot authorities have also denied any wrongdoing regarding to their investigation.
