Cyprus overturns UK woman conviction for making up rape case
ABC News
The Supreme Court in Cyprus has overturned a British woman’s conviction for making up claims she was gang-raped by a group of Israelis
NICOSIA, Cyprus -- The Supreme Court in Cyprus on Monday overturned a British woman’s conviction for making up claims she was gang-raped by a group of Israelis.
The woman, who was 19 at the time of her trial, had been sentenced to a four-month suspended sentence for making up claims that she was gang raped by as many as a dozen Israelis during a vacation in Cyprus in 2019.
The case drew widespread interest in the U.K. and Israel after initial reports that the woman was the victim of a gang rape evolved into her being charged with making up claims of rape. The guilty verdict also triggered strong reaction from activist groups.
The woman insisted that she was raped in a hotel room at a coastal resort town in July 2019 and that she was forced to sign the retraction 10 days later while under police questioning. All of the Israelis, aged 15-20, were then released and allowed to return home.
