UK tourist who accused Israelis of rape says Cypriot police forced her to recant

The 19-year-old British woman facing charges in Cyprus for allegedly falsely accusing 12 Israeli teenagers of raping her at a beach resort in July takes the stand today for the first time in her criminal trial.

The woman has pleaded not guilty to a public mischief charge for making what prosecutors say was a false claim that she was raped by the Israeli teenagers at the Ayia Napa holiday resort on the east Mediterranean island.

Police officers escort a 19-year-old British woman, center, from the Famagusta court in town of Paralimni, Cyprus, July 29, 2019. (AP/Petros Karadjias)

According to the Cyprus Mail, the British woman told the court that police coerced her into retracting the claim

“They said they would arrest me if I didn’t say I had lied. I was so scared, I didn’t think I would leave that station without signing that statement.”

The woman’s lawyers say the rape allegation was not properly investigated, and have complained that there is no recording of her eight-hour interrogation that led to her signing the confession without first speaking to a lawyer.