Update 3 December 2019: Teenager Gives Evidence in Cyprus Trial after Reporting Gang Rape

JUSTICE ABROAD

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Teenager Gives Evidence in Cyprus Trial After Reporting Group Rape

Justice Abroad is assisting the British teenager and her family in this matter.  The case continued today, Tuesday 3 December 2019, at Famagusta District Court in Paralimni where the teenager gave evidence about being raped on 17 July 2019.

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.

During today’s hearing of the trial the teenager gave evidence that:

·       She was in a romantic relationship with one of the Israeli men and that in the beginning he was nice to her but then he began to become jealous and possessive;

·       On the night of the rape she had been outside the hotel where they were staying when this man approached her and told her to go with him;

·       When she entered the room where he was staying, she noticed that the furniture had been moved about however she did not think much of that at the time;

·       They had consensual sex, but the man turned more aggressive than usual;

·       At one point some of the other young men came into the room and they were told to get out by the teenager, this upset the teenager;

·       The Israeli man told her to lie on the bed and he said “its fine, its fine” then pulled her on to the bed, and then he quickly moved his knees on to her shoulders, putting his penis in her mouth, and as he was doing this he was shouting a lot in Hebrew and there was a lot of commotion, the other boys then came into the room;

·       The first man’s penis was so far down the teenager’s throat that she couldn’t breathe but she was trying to throw her head around to get free, as his friends were coming into the room again, they were all shouting and jeering;

·       The teenager tried to cross her legs and she was trying to throw her arms around to stop them from raping her, she does not know how many of them actually raped her and there was a lot of commotion and arguing but she could not understand what was being said as they were speaking in Hebrew;

·       The teenager managed to escape as the first man began shouting for someone to get him a condom, at this stage he moved his knees off her shoulders, and she was gasping for air and was able to crawl out from beneath him, she managed to get away and put her shorts on, she was screaming and shouting and in an absolute state;  and

·       That her friends took her to the clinic attached to the hotel, she did not ask for this to happen, that when she was in the clinic the staff there decided to call the doctor and she also did not ask for this to take place, and the teenage and her friends did not ask the doctor to call the Police.

Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak stated the following:

‘In Cypriot law a defendant has three choices in regard to giving evidence. They can decide not to give evidence, give a statement from the dock which avoids them having to face cross-examination, or give evidence from the witness box in which case they are open to cross-examination from the Prosecution.

The teenager bravely chose the third option and gave a clear, compelling, and consistent account of being subject to a group rape.  She responded to all questions put to her in cross-examination fully without trying to avoid giving answers. It was clear that the teenager’s account withstood the Prosecution’s questioning.  

Remembering that the prosecution are attempting to prove that the Defendant was not raped, what is very interesting here, is that they have not brought to Court the only people,  other than the Defendant, who could give evidence as to what occurred inside that room. If what the Prosecution is saying is correct surely the Israeli men would be all too willing to make the short flight to Cyprus to give evidence on oath.

As this has not taken place, what the Court has before it is the teenager’s cogent account of a rape committed against her and the Prosecution being required to convince the Court beyond reasonable doubt that this did not happen despite not calling any evidence to contradict her evidence of what happened inside the room. ‘

The trial will continue this coming Friday 6 December 2019 at Famagusta District Court when the Defence will call the pathologist Dr Marios Matsakis to give evidence.

The continued fight to obtain justice for the teenager by countering the Prosecution’s narrative with independent experts and the possible appeal process should the Judge rule against the Defence requires increased funding. The teenager’s family continue to raise funds by the Go Fund Me page www.gofundme.com/f/Help-Teen-Victim-Get-Justice-In-Cyprus and wishes to thank all those from the United Kingdom, Israel, and the rest of the world who have contributed to the fundraising campaign at what is a difficult and unexpected time for them.

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.