Mum of Cyprus rape claim teen shares delight as she yells 'she's coming home'

Luke O'Reilly7 January 2020

The mother of a British teenager found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus yelled "she's coming home" as she expressed her relief after her daughter avoided jail.

The 19-year-old woman hugged her family and legal team and left court weeping, head in hands, after she received four months jail suspended for three years for public mischief.

The sentence meant she would be free to return home immediately, and her lawyer, Lewis Power QC, confirmed that she would return home on Tuesday.

Outside Famagusta District Court in Paralimni, the teenager's mother addressed a crowd of cheering supporters.

The woman covered her face as she attended court each day
PA

She said: "On behalf of the family, I would like to say we are very relieved at the sentence that has been passed down today.

"I would also like to say thank you for all the support we have received throughout the globe."

As supporters applauded, she added: "I just want to thank each and every one of you for turning up today, having belief, having faith and making sure we get justice."

Mr Power QC told reporters that they will continue to contest the teenager's conviction.

"Whilst we welcome the fact that the sentence imposed today allows her to go home, we strongly contest the conviction and the fight for her innocence will go on regardless", he said.

"We will be appealing the conviction and will take this case to the Supreme Court of Human Rights.

"We say and will maintain that this young girl was stripped both of her dignity and her basic human rights.

"She has been diagnosed with severe PTSD and this case has resulted in the deterioration of her mental health."

Protesters took to the streets of London in support of the teen
AFP via Getty Images

The teenager has been stuck on the island after claiming she was raped by up to 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in the party town of Ayia Napa on July 17.

She was charged and spent about a month in prison before being granted bail in August.

The dozen young men and boys, aged between 15 and 20 arrested over the incident were freed after she signed a retraction statement 10 days later.

She maintains she was raped after having consensual sex with one of the Israelis, but forced to change her account under pressure from Cypriot police.

The case hinged on a retraction statement signed by the teenager following hours of questioning alone and without legal representation.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT