UK woman cleared by Cyprus court of making up gang rape

British woman who was accused of falsely claiming she was gang-raped by up to 12 tourists in a Cyprus holiday resort had her conviction overturned Monday by the country's Supreme Court.

Defence lawyers successfully argued there had been a miscarriage of justice when a district court in January 2020 found her guilty of public mischief, and handed her a suspended four-month jail term.

The woman, now aged 21 and not publicly identified, had in July 2019 told police she had been raped by the tourists, aged 15 to 22, in a hotel room in the Mediterranean island's party resort town of Ayia Napa.

Aged 19 at the time of her arrest, she was charged after she retracted her initial complaint, but later said she had been pressured to do so by local police in lengthy questioning without a lawyer or translator present.

The woman's family asked Monday that the rape case now be re-investigated for "true justice" to be served.

The woman did not attend the hearing Monday, but around 40 activists protested outside the court with banners saying "I believe her" and "end rape culture", and clapped when they heard the court's ruling.

"This is a watershed moment," said Michael Polak of the UK-based group Justice Abroad, that assisted the woman and her family in their legal battle.

He said the woman had "always maintained her innocence, even when doing so caused her the hardship of not being able to return home during the lengthy trial proceedings".

He added that "important fair trial provisions, which are in place to prevent miscarriages of justice, were totally disregarded in this case.

"A young and vulnerable woman was not only mistreated when she reported the rape to the police, but she was just put through a trial process that was manifestly unfair as the Supreme Court has recognised."

The British High Commission in Cyprus tweeted that it welcomed the ruling and said London had "regularly raised this case with the authorities and will continue to work with authorities in Cyprus to improve due process and support victims".