Decision Due in Ayia Napa Rape Case European Court of Human Rights Application

On 27 February 2025, the European Court of Human rights will deliver its decision on the application by the victim in the Ayia Napa Rape Case at 9am UK time.

The Application arose following the Attorney General of Cyprus’s decision to refuse to order a new investigation in the Ayia Napa rape case on the basis that this decision breaches the victim’s rights to a fair hearing and a property investigation into the sexual offences committed against her

 The Attorney General’s decision comes following the success of our clients appeal to the Supreme Court of Cyprus where that Court not only set out the many legal failures in the case against her but also covered the procedural failures in the investigation of her rape complaint.

In Cyprus, the decision of the Attorney General to initiate or discontinue criminal prosecutions is not subject to any appeal or review. As such, there are no domestic remedies available to the victim to challenge the Attorney General’s decision not to order a proper investigation into the rape complaint.

The challenge at the European Court of Human Rights submits that the victim’s rights under  Article 3, 8 , and 6 of the Convention have been breached, in that the investigation of the offence was so poor as to amount to a breach of the Cyprus’s obligation to properly investigate and prosecute sexual offences and that the restriction on her access to a tribunal to challenge the Attorney General’s decision not to order an investigation deprived our client of the guarantees that she would have enjoyed had she been able to submitted a challenge to that decision in court, namely that the Attorney General’s decision was irrational and contrary to the ruling of the Supreme Court when allowing her appeal.

Justice Abroad Director Michael Polak stated:

 ‘This is obviously a very important case for the rights for of victims of sexual violence in Europe.

After our win in X v Greece, where the Court held that Greek Authorities failed to uphold the rights of a victim of rape in Greece and set out a framework in relation to the investigation and prosecution of sexual offences, we hope that the European Court of Huma Rights will develop the procedural rights further in this matter. Our client has gone through a long and difficult fight for justice in this case following the reporting of the rape to the Cypriot Authorities we hope that her actions will inspire others to speak out about offences that have been committed against them.’

Justice Abroad can be contacted for comment on the decision of the European Court of Human Rights by email or telephone (contact@justiceabroad.co.uk ; +44 (0)203 488 2316)