Defence to Appeal after Teenager Found Guilty of Public Mischief After Reporting Group Rape in Cyprus

JUSTICE ABROAD ‘

“Here When You Need Us”

Justice Abroad is assisting the British teenager and her family in this matter. The case continued today, Tuesday 7 January 2020, at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni for sentencing where the judge sentenced to a four month sentence suspended for 3 years.

The teenager is represented by an expert legal team assembled by Justice Abroad comprising of Lewis Power QC, a top barrister from Church Court Chambers at the English Bar of the senior rank of Queen’s Counsel, Cypriot lawyer Nicoletta Charalambidou, an experienced human rights advocate, and Ritsa Pekri, a criminal law expert.

Today’s sentence means that the teenager will finally be able to return to the United Kingdom having been unable to leave Cyprus since July 2019. Although the teenager’s time in Cyprus is over her pursuit of justice continues. The defence team will be submitting appeal grounds to the Supreme Court of Cyprus within the next 10 days and will be requesting an expedited appeal.

Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak stated the following:

‘Although we are pleased that our client has not been sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence she has still been subject to a grave injustice which must be rectified.

When the teenager reported the horrific offence to the Cypriot Police in July 2019 she did not imagine that she would end up on trial. Not only has she been subject to this indignity but she was also remanded in Nicosia prison for four and a half weeks and has been subject to stringent bail conditions requiring her to stay in Cyprus since this time. Despite all the obstacles that the teenager has faced seeking justice for the terrible offences that she reported, she and her legal team, remain committed to obtaining justice. Justice Abroad remains confident that the at some point in the appeal process the convictions will be overturned and if our client cannot obtain justice in Cyprus this matter will go all the way up to the European Court of Human Rights and European Court of Justice.

When I first met the teenager in Nicosia prison in July 2019 and agreed that Justice Abroad would represent her I was doubtful that we would be able to find lawyers in Cyprus willing to stand up against the weight of the Cypriot authorities. Justice Abroad has been very fortunate to find the Cypriot lawyers Nicoletta Charalambidou and Ritsa Pekri who have fearlessly represented our client in what turned out to be very difficult court proceedings. Lewis Power QC, a barrister from Church Court Chambers, who has expertise in acting in matters with an international dimension, has worked alongside our Cypriot team to ensure that our client has the best representation possible. Justice Abroad is extremely grateful for our team’s hard work in this matter and believe that they represent the best of the legal profession.

It remains clear that improvements needs to be made to the Cypriot judicial system so that foreigners who find themselves before the courts, whether in matters such as this, or in commercial disputes, will have a fair hearing before an impartial tribunal. It is up to the Cypriot authorities to implement improvement measures and the Cypriot people to demand that they do so. If this is not done this will cause damage to the reputation of Cyprus as somewhere to travel and do business as it has in this case.’

The teenager, her family, and the legal team would like to convey their thanks to all that have supported the campaign for justice so far and especially to those who have travelled from Israel for the hearing today and those who organised and attended the rally in London yesterday. This support, and the generous donations to the Go Fund Me (www.gofundme.com/f/Help-Teen-Victim-Get-Justice-In-Cyprus) have been heartening at a very difficult time for the family.

The teenager’s mother will not be giving interviews as she helps the teenager to return to her life in the United Kingdom. We ask that their privacy is respected.

Justice Abroad is happy to deal with any enquiries by email: Contact@JusticeAbroad.co.uk

Notes to Editors

Justice Abroad, www.justiceabroad.co.uk has been set up to help those trying to find their way through foreign justice systems with all the associated hurdles that presents. To help such families with these dilemmas and many more, three experts, Michael Polak, a barrister with an international practice focussed on the assistance of foreign nationals in trouble around the world, David Swindle , a former Detective Superintendent who has worked on hundreds of murders and complex high profile investigations in the UK and abroad during his 34 years in the police, and David Walters MVO, a former British Diplomat with over thirty years’ experience having served in over a dozen countries around the world, have pooled their extensive experience. Justice Abroad is endeavouring to ensure that their client experiences a fair, transparent, and unbiased trial process in Cyprus.

Lewis Power QC is a barrister who was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1990 and achieved the senior rank of Queen’s Counsel (QC) in 2011. He has a strong reputation for fighting difficult cases at trial and advising and advocating in matters with international and cross-jurisdictional elements.

Nicoletta Charalambidou is human rights lawyer with an expertise on European Union law and with a particular interest in victims and suspects rights in criminal procedures and discrimination in the administration of justice. She is also a member to the Legal Experts Advisory Panel of Fair Trials.

Ritsa Pekri is a civil and criminal law lawyer working with Nicoletta Charalambidou LLC with strong experience in criminal cases and those matters involving human rights related issues.

Justice Abroad is also cooperating with KISA - Action for Equality, Support, Antiracism which is a national NGO active in the field of antidiscrimination and antiracism, including discrimination in the administration of justice and a human rights violations watchdog working in the field of victim and suspects rights under EU law.