In a notable ruling, a Famagusta criminal court in Cyprus acquitted five Israeli men of charges related to the alleged gang rape of a 20-year-old British woman. On Monday, the court decided to clear the defendants of multiple charges, including two counts of rape, sexual abuse, forced sexual intercourse, harassment, and abduction.
The case began when the woman reported an attack to the police in September 2023, claiming she had been assaulted by the five defendants, who are between 19 and 20 years old and hail from Majd al-Krum, Israel. The trial commenced in October 2023 at a court near Ayia Napa, where the alleged incident took place.
The court, in its judgment, indicated that the woman's testimony lacked credibility and was riddled with inconsistencies, particularly regarding her ability to accurately identify the defendants involved in the alleged assault. The three-judge panel noted that misidentifying assailants is "not abnormal" in such circumstances but highlighted significant contradictions in her statements.
Further questioning revealed doubts about the woman's claim that she was forcibly taken from a large gathering, with a friend testifying to having seen her voluntarily go upstairs with another individual. The court found that although the woman had consumed alcohol and was under the influence of narcotics (MDA and MDMA), it did not impair her capacity to consent, as she stated she felt only "slightly dizzy" at the time.
The judges rejected her assertion that she had shouted for help during the incident due to testimony from two individuals in an adjacent room who claimed they heard nothing. Moreover, they pointed out discrepancies in her reports to police, noting that she first indicated non-consensual sex with one person before changing her account to involve two, and later five men.
The court ultimately concluded that the evidence, including abrasions on the woman's body, could not definitively establish a forced encounter and might be consistent with consensual intercourse. A portion of the trial proceedings had been closed to the public, but the outcome has raised significant attention and debate about the handling of sexual assault cases in Cyprus.
