The Israeli suspects detained in Cyprus after a British woman accused them of gang-raping her are to reportedly face a second remand hearing after she picked them out of a police lineup.
Five suspects have been held for a week after the woman, 20, told police she was taken “by force” last weekend from the pool area of a hotel during a party, and then raped by several men in a room.
During a lineup, the woman was able to pick out the suspects and told investigators what each one of them had done during the alleged sexual assault, the Walla news site reported Sunday.
It was not clear if the woman identified all five of those believed to have been in room where the assault allegedly happened. All the suspects are being held while investigations were ongoing, reportedly over concerns they could try to leave Cyprus.
All of the suspects, aged 19-20, are from the northern town of Majd al-Krum and are reportedly set to appear in court on Monday.
Three of the men were questioned again by police on Saturday, Walla said.
Walla reported, without citing sources, that so far there is apparently no CCTV footage from the hotel.
The woman has told police that on September 3, she struck up a conversation with one of the suspects by the pool at the Federania Gardens hotel in Ayia Napa.
A view of Nissi Beach and the sea in southeast resort of Ayia Napa, in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, Saturday, May 22, 2021. (AP/Petros Karadjias)
The man then pulled her by the arm to the room, and when inside, tried to remove her swimsuit.
According to Walla, the woman said she resisted, but two more men appeared and the three suspects then raped her.
The woman said she heard other people entering and leaving the room during the alleged assault, but was not sure how many in total.
The woman said she eventually managed to escape to the room’s bathroom, where she locked the door, got dressed and began screaming for help, Walla reported.
The suspects told her to keep quiet but she emerged from the bathroom and fled the room, found her friends and told them what happened. They then called the police.
Officers who were called to the scene found the woman in a “distressed state,” but she was still able to direct them to the room in the hotel, the Walla report said. There police found the five suspects and another individual.
The sixth man was initially held, but was later released after police confirmed he was not in the room during the alleged assault.
Investigators have removed evidence from the room, including sheets, and have examined both the woman and the suspects. DNA samples have also been taken from both the woman and her alleged assailants.
Leaked reports of the investigation have said blood was found in the room and the woman had bruises and abrasions on her arms.
Three of the suspects claim they did not have sex with the woman, and one says he was so drunk he doesn’t remember anything, Walla reported.
The woman has since returned to the UK and is being represented by Michael Polack of the Justice Abroad group, the same lawyer who represented another British woman who in 2019 accused a group of Israelis of rape.
Israeli attorney Nir Yaslovitz is representing two of the suspects. Yaslovitz was also involved in the 2019 case.
In that case, which made international headlines, the woman alleged that she was raped by up to 12 Israeli tourists, aged 15 to 22, in a hotel room in the seaside holiday resort of Ayia Napa. She was 18 at the time.
The Israeli teenagers and young men denied any wrongdoing and were eventually released from custody and allowed to return home. When they arrived back in Israel after their release without charge, they received a hero’s welcome. The Israelis have not denied that they had sexual relations with the woman, but claim it was consensual.
Israeli tourists who were released from Cyprus detention following a gang rape allegation by a British teenager arrive at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, July 28, 2019. (Flash90)
Several months later the young woman was convicted of lying about the incident, but defense lawyers successfully overturned her conviction in the Cypriot Supreme Court in January 2022, arguing there had been a miscarriage of justice when a district court found her guilty of public mischief and handed her a suspended four-month jail term.
Later that year the woman announced she planned to take her case to the European Court of Human Rights after Cypriot authorities ruled out a new investigation of her claim.
Last week, the woman from the 2019 case expressed her support for the alleged victim in the latest incident.
Together with her family, she said in a statement to the UK’s Daily Mail newspaper: “We send our heartfelt support to the young woman at the center of these reports.”
“We hope that the Cypriot authorities don’t add the insult to injury of victim-blaming that lead to pre-trial imprisonment and the wrongful prosecution that was successfully appealed at great emotional and financial cost.”
A 19-year old British woman covers her face as she arrives at Famagusta District Court escorted by her mother, for sentencing after she was found guilty of inventing claims she was raped by up to 12 Israelis, in Paralimni January 7, 2020. (Petros Karadjias/AP)
Meanwhile, the father of one of the suspects in the 2023 Cyprus incident claimed the accuser was making up the story for “insurance money,” telling the Ynet news outlet “it is like in 2019 when the British tourist made up a story about a group of Israelis.”
“There is no rape here, they didn’t drag her out of the pool and there was nothing,” said the father, who is also in Cyprus. He claimed that police have CCTV footage that shows “the girl hugging only one of them [the suspects] and going up to the room with him.”
He further claimed the accusations were part of a trend by British tourists.
“At the police station, I met detainees from all over Europe who are alleged to have committed criminal acts against British people,” he said and called on Israel’s Foreign Ministry to become involved.
Cyprus is a popular destination for Israeli tourists. Official figures for July show they were the second largest group of visitors, accounting for 10.2 percent, or more than 46,400 arrivals, second only to the United Kingdom, which made up 34.8 percent of arrivals.
AFP contributed to this report.
