Cyprus’s AG appeals court acquittal of 5 Israelis accused of raping UK tourist

Cyprus’s attorney general George Savvides has filed an appeal against last month’s acquittal of five Israeli men who were accused of raping a British tourist in Ayia Napa, reports say.

In late March, a district court in Cyprus found the defendants not guilty of an alleged gang rape, dismissing all charges — including rape, forced sexual intercourse, sexual harassment, and abduction — and ordering their release after a year and a half in jail.

In September 2023, a 20-year old British tourist accused the five men, all residents of the Arab Israeli town of Majd al-Krum in the Galilee, of abducting her from the pool area of a hotel, forcing her into a hotel room, and raping and abusing her until she managed to escape.

The defendants confirmed there had been a sexual encounter, but insisted it had been consensual.

According to Philenews, the English website of local newspaper O Phileleftheros, the court ruled that the complainant’s account “lacked coherence and contained numerous substantial contradictions,” both internally and when compared to other reliable witnesses, including hotel employees, guests in an adjacent room, and her own close friend.

The woman’s lawyer, Michael Polak, welcomes the prosecutors’ decision to appeal the verdict.

“Obviously she was very disappointed with the acquittals of the men after bravely traveling back to Cyprus to give evidence,” he tells Sky News. “The decision of the attorney general to appeal their acquittals is welcome. The appeal process in Cyprus is long and slow, but she still hopes to achieve justice at the end of the process.”

The Israelis have since returned to Israel and are unlikely to return to Cyprus for the discussions regarding the appeal.