Cyprus rape case: Demands for overhaul of justice system as campaigners say verdict represents ‘systemic misogyny’

Campaigners are calling for an overhaul of the Cypriot justice system after a British teenager was found guilty of lying about being raped and handed a four-month suspended jail sentence.

Activists have warned of “systemic misogyny” in the case of the 19-year-old, who was convicted after claiming she was raped by up to 12 Israeli tourists in the Cypriot party resort of Ayia Napa in July. The woman, who cannot be named, says she was forced to sign a confession withdrawing the rape complaint.

As she was sentenced for public mischief on Tuesday, with protesters outside the Famagusta court in Paralimni waving signs that said “we believe you” and “don’t be afraid”, the judge told her he had decided “to give her a second chance”.

The teenager was pictured at Larnaca airport in the evening, as she arrived with her mother to fly home to the UK more than six months after first arriving in Cyprus.

Christina Kaili, a project coordinator at the Cyprus-based Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies, told The Independent: “The decision is what internalised and systemic misogyny looks like. With this decision, she is not allowed to get a presidential pardon and she has a criminal record so is stigmatised. She will not be allowed to have certain jobs because of it. Someone who has been abused has been treated like a criminal.”

Ms Kaili added: “She was treated very badly by the Cypriot authorities. She was victimised by the system. We believe her. It gives a really bad message to society that if you dare to report rape and dare to go to the court, you will not be believed.

“Cypriot women activists are very upset and angry about the situation. The case was not properly handled from the beginning. She was in court for public mischief when it was clearly a case about rape. The system is broken because we have people in positions who hold victim-blaming attitudes. Although we see improvement in Cyprus, it is still a highly patriarchal society and women are often seen to cause the rape.”

Ms Kaili warned there is a wider problem of rape and sexual assault victims not being believed in Cyprus and argued patriarchal views are deeply entrenched in public institutions on the Mediterranean island.

The campaigner called for all legal professionals in the judiciary system to undergo “intensive training” on the issue of violence against women – noting gender-based violence was also a global problem.

The judge said he had chosen to suspend the teen’s sentence because of “mitigating factors” including her psychological state, her youth, the fact she had already spent four-and-a-half weeks in jail in the capital Nicosia and that she had been unable to leave Cyprus since the alleged gang rape took place on 17 July.

“I admit, I have been troubled over this. All the evidence shows that she had lied and prevented the police from doing other serious jobs,” he said.

The 12 men and boys accused, all aged between 15 and 20, were arrested but later freed after she signed a statement withdrawing her claim 10 days later. But the young woman’s lawyers say she was raped and her retraction should not be used as evidence because investigators threatened both her and her friends with arrest.

In October, a court heard the group of young Israeli men had been “aggressively” planning to have sex with the woman. The men were heard plotting in a “very bad way” to “do orgies” with the teenager, the court was told.

Michael Polak, a British human rights lawyer from Justice Abroad, a legal aid group providing help to the teen’s family, said: “She was subject to a gross miscarriage of justice. She spent four-and-a-half weeks in prison after reporting a terrible gang rape. There is a lot of anger in Cyprus – people are upset and embarrassed about the way the courts and police have behaved towards her.

“We were surprised by way the judge behaved to defence team – including two Cypriot female lawyers. His anger and aggressiveness to the defence team contrasted with the way he acted to the prosecution team. He shouted out towards the teenage victim and told her not to be disrespectful when she looked at mother.”

Mr Polak said they were asking for an expedited appeal against the verdict so it can be heard quickly – noting it could otherwise take around two years for an appeal hearing at the Cypriot Supreme Court.

He said there were “many clear grounds” for appeal and they were confident they would achieve justice for the teenager in Cyprus or at the European Court of Human Rights.

He added: “We would require a proper investigation into the rape. The case needs to look at the communication data with the Israeli youths. Not only has the offence not been properly investigated, but she also suffered because of the poor work of Cypriot police.”

The lawyer said many foreign nationals who said they had experienced rape or physical assault or had been caught up in commercial disputes in Cyprus had contacted to Justice Abroad to say they did not have access to a fair and impartial trial. The Cypriot justice system needs to be “fixed quickly”, he added.

The young woman’s mother said her daughter, who had been facing up to a year in jail, was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder and was sleeping 20 hours a day due to a condition called hypersomnia.