Activists take part in a demonstration supporting a British woman who says she was pressured to retract a claim of gang rape, outside the Supreme Court in Nicosia, Cyprus, September 16, 2021. NICOSIA, 16 Sept Reuters - A British woman who was convicted for falsely reporting gang rape in Cyprus has filed an appeal against the island's Supreme Court of Justice, seeking to clear her name.
The woman received a suspended four-month prison sentence in January 2020 in a case which sparked concern from Britain and activists about her treatment by Cyprus authorities.
Lawyers for the defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and prosecutors presented their arguments before a three-judge Supreme Court in the capital Nicosia on Thursday morning.
It is expected that the court will issue a ruling within six months.
The woman, then aged 19, filed a complaint in July 2019 that she had been raped in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa by a group of Israeli youths. Days later, the complaint was withdrawn, leading to her arrest and subsequent conviction for public mischief.
She maintains she withdrew her complaint as due process under duress after hours of police questioning and without a lawyer present.
The case is a seminal one for the protection of human rights in Cyprus, as well as the treatment of those reporting sexual offences, said Michael Polack, director of the UK-based justice advocacy group assisting a local defence team.
Twelve Israeli youths were arrested for questioning, but quickly released after the woman withdrew her accusation.
They were not required to provide any evidence in the woman's trial because the case focused on whether the woman had mislead authorities and given a false statement, rather than the alleged rape itself.
The British government said later it had numerous concerns about the judicial process and the woman's right to a fair trial. The woman was not present at Thursday's process.