All 5 Defendants Acquitted in Second Ayia Napa Gang Rape Case
On 31 March 2025, the Famagusta District Court in Paralimni, the Republic of Cyprus, acquitted all five defendants in the second Ayia Napa gang rape trial involving an incident which took place in a hotel in Ayia Napa in early September 2023. Justice Abroad is supporting the young lady in this case.
During hearings the Court heard a summary of the evidence from the Prosecution which set out a horrifically violent gang rape as well as from several staff members who had witnessed the aftermath of the alleged attack. The Court has provided no reasons for its decision to acquit all defendants in this case.
The Court’s decision follows a decision of the European Court of Human Rights in X v Cyprus on 27 February 2025, where the Court held that the Republic of Cyprus had breach Articles 3 and 8 of the European Convention by failing to properly investigate and prosecute sexual offence in the first Ayia Napa gang rape case. The Strasbourg Court observed that:
‘the present case reveals certain biases concerning women in Cyprus which impeded the effective protection of the applicant’s rights as a victim of gender-based violence and which, if not reversed, run the risk of creating a background of impunity, discouraging victims’ trust in the criminal justice system, despite the existence of a satisfactory legislative framework.’ (paragraph 125)
During the trial process in the instant case, the Court excluded the DNA evidence of two of the defendants as the Cypriot Police failed to follow proper procedures.
Justice Abroad Director Michael Polak stated the following:
‘The young lady in this case is completely distraught by the Court’s verdict today. Recently, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that there is no effective protection for women subject to sexual offences in the Republic of Cyprus. Unfortunately, nothing I have seen shows that there have been any improvements in this area.’
The family of the young lady in this case are raising funds to challenge today’s judgment and to seek justice. All donations made at www.crowdjustice.com/case/help-ayia-napa-rape-case are very much appreciated at this difficult time.
Justice Abroad is an organisation set up to help those trying to find their way through justice systems overseas with all the associated hurdles that presents, to represent those facing gross breaches of their human rights no matter where this takes place, and to advise and assist the victims of crimes as to how to achieve justice.
Justice Abroad can be contacted by email or telephone (contact@justiceabroad.co.uk; +44 (0)203 488 2316)