This morning, the British woman who claims that she was raped by 12 boys and men in Ayia Napa was handed a jail sentence of four months, suspended for three years. (This means she won’t go to jail, unless a parole term is broken.) She was also ordered to pay a €140 fine, all for the conviction of ‘public mischief’. You can read more about the background to the case here.
Ahead of the sentencing, a protest was organised in London yesterday. Starting off at the Cyprus High Commission, the group, comprised primarily of young women, marched to Parliament Square via Downing Street, before ending up outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Chanting ‘yes means yes, no means no’ and ‘shame on Cyprus’, they eventually reached the statue of Suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, whose bronze placard reads: ‘courage speaks to courage everywhere’. They called on the UK Government to do more to encourage Cyprus to commute the sentence of this young woman, and bring the alleged perpetrators to justice.
The Ayia Napa gang rape story began when the 19-year-old woman, on a working holiday, was allegedly, she would later try to explain to police, raped by 12 boys and men. However, soon enough, the tables were turned and she was accused by the Cypriot justice system of lying about the incident. Questioned for hours on end without a lawyer, the girl was allegedly coerced into retracting her initial statement. The boys and men, aged from 15-22, were all freed and allowed to return to Israel, where they let off confetti and chanted ‘the Brit is a whore’. Six months on, she has not yet been able to leave Cyprus to begin her degree, her identity has been circulated across porn and social media sites, and her intended career working for the police is in jeopardy.
Health-wise, she has developed PTSD and is being regarded a suicide risk. The British Government has requested that Cyprus, ‘do the right thing’, insists Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. But what is the right thing? Her sentence essentially means she can come home ASAP, and there are also reports of a presidential pardon for this woman. Yet, to the protestors Grazia spoke with, neither would ever be enough to provide justice to this young woman or reassure the thousands of others like her, who travel to Ayia Napa every year in search of blissful summer fun, and definitely not this unspeakable torment. Grazia spoke to several of the protestors to find out their thoughts:
Ben, 21, student
‘When I first found out about this I was in disbelief, I couldn’t fathom such an injustice happening where the victim is turned into the criminal, it’s disgusting. Even being here feels surreal, that in order to get any kind of justice from the Cypriot system we have to do this. I think a boycott is going to be the only way to get enough pressure on Cyprus to drop her conviction and bring the actual criminals to justice.'
Isobel, 20, student
‘I am so heartbroken for this girl, she was just 18 when this happened and she was abused once by her rapists and a second time by the justice system in Cyprus. She’s been humiliated by her identity being leaked illegally and I just feel awful for her. I want her to be pardoned and the charges to be dropped and for her rapists to be brought to trial. Things like this happen everywhere, as well. This isn’t just a problem with Cyprus.’
Kirsty, 49, accountant
‘My daughter alerted me to this young girl’s plight some months ago. I was horrified and heartbroken, especially having children around the same age. I wouldn’t want them to go Cyprus on holiday without access to legal rights. I hope the young woman is allowed home, she’s already spent so long in prison, and the conviction should just be overturned. The people who’ve been accused of rape need to be put on trial instead.’
Eve, 19, student
‘It’s such a horrific thing to happen to anyone, let alone a 19-year-old girl in a different country. It’s really important to show solidarity with her, that there are so many people who do support her and do believe her. We need our government to stand up for her human rights, they need to say they believe her and will do all in their power to help her. This isn’t just a front page that will drop off, this is her life now.’
Verity, 22, co-founder of The Gemini Project, who organised the march
‘It’s bollocks when Dominic Raab pretends the UK is different to Cyprus. Because this isn’t an isolated incident. This girl needs the most lenient sentencing possible, then the fight for her appeal begins. Some people have tried to make this a geopolitical issue. I know the alleged perpetrators were Israeli, but we’ve seen antisemitism spread online about this case and it’s not right. We’re here against the miscarriage of justice against this girl, a violence against women issue which, sadly, could happen anywhere.’
Lucy, 22, co-founder of The Gemini Project, who organised the march
‘What I’ve noticed from coverage of this case is that people are comfortable listening to women’s trauma but not acting on it to make real systemic change. And a lot of guys don’t know what consent is but they need to know yes means yes, no means no and maybe doesn’t mean ‘make me’. As well as an investigation into human rights violations committed by the mayor, judge and police in Cyprus, we need sexual consent education in the UK.’
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