UK teen convicted of false rape claim against Israelis to be pardoned – reports

The British teenager recently convicted in Cyprus of fabricating a gang-rape claim against 12 young Israeli tourists will receive a presidential pardon if she is sentenced to prison, British and Cypriot media outlets reported Monday.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades is waiting to see the outcome of her sentencing on Tuesday, at the Famagusta District Court in Paralimni, before announcing his decision, Cypriot newspaper Phileleftheros reported.

The 19-year-old tourist faces up to a year in prison and a fine of about 1,700 euros ($1,900) for “public mischief.”

“Should the court move to order her to prison, the president has already decided that he will pardon the girl, immediately after the ruling,” the Daily Mail reported, citing the Cypriot newspaper.

Cypriot government sources told Phileleftheros the president did not make his decision due to pressure from the British government, but rather due to the woman’s age and the furor the case has caused in Cyprus and abroad.

The sources said the president did not involve himself in proceedings until now because he did not want to give the impression that the Nicosia government was interfering with the country’s judicial system.

Britain’s Foreign Office has said it is “seriously concerned” about whether the woman received a fair trial, and the case has been taken up by rape survivors and rights groups, including in Israel.

The woman, who has not been named, would accept a pardon from the president if it is offered, her mother told a British morning television show Monday.

“Of course, in the event she was put into prison, to get out of prison, she would accept a pardon,” the mother said, according to The Sun newspaper. “Provided that would be subject to her not admitting guilt. She is innocent. She was brutally and violently raped by a group of men.”

She said her daughter is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and hallucinations due to the trauma she has suffered from the case. That account was backed up by the report from a psychologist who evaluated her after the alleged rape and said that the woman’s state of mind when she recanted the accusation was not properly taken into consideration during her trial.

The accused Israelis, aged 15 to 18, were initially arrested in the case but later released without charge. They received a heroes’ welcome when they arrived back in Israel. The Israelis have not denied they had sexual relations with the woman, but claim it was consensual.

The tourist was convicted by a court in Cyprus last week of lying about being attacked by the Israeli tourists at a hotel in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in July.

Famagusta District Court Judge Michalis Papathanasiou said the defendant had not told the truth and had tried to deceive the court with “evasive” statements in her testimony.

The judge said the woman had admitted to investigators that she made up the claims because she was “ashamed” after finding out that some of the Israelis had taken cellphone video of her having consensual sex. Police have reportedly claimed the content of the video contradicts the woman’s initial rape claims.

Later, the woman claimed police had pressured her into withdrawing her complaint and a linguistics expert witness who testified at the trial said the grammar of her retraction did not appear to be that of a native English-speaker and was likely dictated to her.

During the trial, defense lawyers called the police investigation deficient and improper, alleging detectives had made major lapses and omissions in their work while having a mistaken perception of the facts surrounding their client’s claim.

The woman has been unable to leave the Mediterranean island since the case began.

The British government has cast doubt over whether the teenager received a fair trial and said it would raise the issue with Cypriot authorities.

Last week, the young woman urged UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to intervene and bring her home, according to The Sun. “I am 19 and all I want to do is clear my name and come home to my family,” she was quoted as saying by the daily. “Time is running out for me. Please, please help.”

On Monday, some 60 people, most of them women, demonstrated in London to call on the government to help the British woman.

“She is being punished for something awful that happened to her,” said Lucy Nevitt, rally organizer and co-founder of The Gemini Project, which supports victims of sexual assault.

“We have seen this happen too often, it happened to other people in Cyprus,” she told AFP. “This is why we are calling on the government to intervene.”

The protesters gathered in front of the Cyprus High Commission before marching toward Downing Street and Parliament Square. They held signs reading “We believe her” and “Boycott Cyprus.”

“I want to send a message to the Cyprus authorities that I would like them to carry out a proper investigation, to apologize to the young lady for not allowing her access to her full rights,” said accountant Kirsty Oliver, 49.

“It’s a really tragic case of violation of human rights,” added Ella Benami, a documentary filmmaker in her 50s. “Everybody in the story is completely biased against the woman. Her part of the story is not heard.”