Five men accused of gang-raping British tourist in Cyprus plead not guilty
- British woman was allegedly attacked by Israeli men at Fedrania Gardens Hotel
Five men accused of gang raping a British woman in Cyprus have pleaded not guilty to the attack.
The five, who have been in custody since the alleged attack last month, are all aged between 19 and 20 years old.
They were held after the 20-year-old woman told hotel staff she had been attacked and police were called to the three-star hotel where she was staying in Ayia Napa.
The men are all Arab Israelis from the town of Majd Al-Krum and are accused of rape and kidnap and if convicted could face life imprisonment.
At an initial hearing last month the court in Paralimni was packed with friends and relatives but because of the current situation in Israel the court was empty.
Five men accused of gang raping a British woman in Cyprus have pleaded not guilty to the attack. Pictured: The Cypriot and European flags fly in front of Famagusta district court
Following their not guilty pleas lawyers for the five asked for the men to be released on bail but the request was refused as forensics are still being carried out.
The court adjourned the case until December 18 when the victim is expected to testify in the case and three days have been set aside for the hearing.
The woman reported that she was gang-raped by a number of Israelis on the evening of Sunday, September 3.
She told the police that she went to the hotel where the suspects were staying because she was invited to a pool party.
According to her complaint, while she was in the area she was approached by an unknown person who started flirting with her.
The suspect then allegedly grabbed her by the arm and forcibly led her to the room where she was staying with other compatriots.
There, she claims she was raped successively by people who followed him.
Cypriot police cars transport Israeli tourists to the Famagusta district court in Paralimni, where they will stand trial for allegedly gang-raping a young British woman in a popular Cypriot holiday resort a month earlier, on October 5, 2023
Women's rights activists deploy a banner in front of Famagusta district court in Paralimni, where five Israeli tourists will stand trial for allegedly gang-raping a young British woman in a popular Cypriot holiday resort a month earlier, on October 5, 2023
Relatives of Israeli men held for the alleged rape of a British woman stand outside the courthouse in Paralimni, Cyprus, October 5
The girl, according to her complaint, started shouting and the alleged perpetrators let her go. She then informed the management of the hotel, who notified the police.
According to a leaked report she had bruises and injuries consistent with an attack and a statement from her was read out by the prosecutor which went into the horrific assault, and which is too graphic to publish.
The court also heard several staff had witnessed the aftermath of the alleged attack and would testify at the hearing – including how they saw the victim fleeing by climbing from a window on the second floor of the Fedrania Gardens hotel.
A forensic search of the room where the attack happened found traces of blood on the floor and on sheets on the bed.
The men, who are all from the Arab Israeli town of Majd al-Krum near Acre, all deny the charges, insisting the sex was consensual.
The case bears a harrowing similarity to one in the same resort in 2019 and also involving a British girl who says she was gang raped by a group of Israelis
The case continues.
It bears a harrowing similarity to one in the same resort in 2019 and also involving a British girl who says she was gang raped by a group of Israelis.
They were initially rounded up and later released with the victim astonishingly being charged and later convicted with wasting police time.
She later won her case on appeal and the offence was overturned by the Cyprus supreme court after the story made headlines around the world.
The woman in the latest case has set up a crowd funding page to help pay legal costs and has a target of £8000 with the total standing at just under £1500.
