Protesters chanting ‘boycott Cyprus’ demonstrate outside the country’s High Commission in London in support of British teenager as her mother implores court not to jail her tomorrow and says ‘she needs to get home’
- British teenager found guilty of making up a Cyprus gang rape now had PTSD
- Her mother says her daughter sleeps up to 20 hours a day ahead of sentencing
- 19-year-old said she retracted her statement because of pressure from police
Protesters chanted ‘boycott Cyprus’ outside the Cypriot High Commission in London today in support of a British teenager convicted of lying about being gang-raped as her mother said she was suffering from PTSD and ‘needs to get home’.
Demonstrators gathered in front the High Commission Of The Republic Of Cyprus in St James’s Square this morning before setting off to march through the streets past Downing Street and the Foreign Office to Parliament Square.
They were calling for justice for the 19-year-old woman, who was found guilty of public mischief and is due to be sentenced tomorrow.
The protest came after the teenager’s mother appeared on This Morning where she hit out at Cypriot police who she insists forced a false retraction from her daughter, and failed to properly gather evidence in the wake of the assault.
The 19-year-old claims she was gang raped by up to 12 Israeli youths, who following the retraction were allowed to fly home while she was held.
The mother of a British teenager found guilty of making up a gang rape appeared on this Morning today from Cyprus (pictured) and said her daughter is suffering from PTSD ahead of her sentencing tomorrow
Protesters gather outside the Cypriot High Commission in London for the 19 year old girl accused of making a false gang rape claim in Cyprus by 12 Israeli men
The teenager is due to be sentenced tomorrow, sparking a demonstration among her supporters in London today (pictured)
Tomorrow she will be sentenced and the girl’s mother said ‘best case scenario is she is given a fine and a suspended sentence,’ while ‘worst case’ would mean prison.
Speaking from Cyprus with her face obscured by darkness, the mother said: ‘The whole police procedures in Cyprus are wrong. The CID said he didn’t take notes because he was too busy that night.’
She also insisted her daughter was telling the truth, adding: I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever about my daughter’s claims. She’s really suffering out here.
‘She’s getting worst on almost a daily basis. She has PTSD, is sleeping 16-20 hours a day. She is not in a good way at all and needs to get home to the UK.
Questing the Cypriot course process, she also slammed a judge from throwing out expert testimony from a language expert who said the retracted statement was not written by a native English speaker.
According to respected linguist, Dr Andrea Nini, the woman’s written confession was much more likely to have been the words of a Cypriot policeman dictating what she should write.
‘The whole police procedures in Cyprus are wrong,’ she said. ‘The CID said he didn’t take notes because he was too busy that night.’
Relief: The men accused were whisked back to Israel, arriving at Ben Gurion airport to chants of ‘the Brit is a whore’
Asked whether her daughter would accept a pardon from the Cypriot president, Nicos Anastasiades should a prison sentence be given, her mother said the teenager would on the condition it would not require a written admission of guilt.
Speaking from a dark room to preserve her identity and her daughter’s identity, she also thanked supporters who have so far raised more than £135,000 to help her cause.
She said: ‘The support from my family, friends and employee has been amazing. The financial support is very significant, and we read through the comments which are so inspiring and motivating.
‘Thank you everyone who has demonstrated on our behalf.’
Her comments came before dozens of protesters staged their march in London.
They held aloft placards saying ‘I believe her’ and ‘the rapist is you’, while people chanted ‘we believe her, we want justice’ and ‘boycott Cyprus’.
Verity Nevitt, co-founder of the Gemini Project – which organised the march, told the PA news agency that it was to ‘stand in solidarity’ with the teenager ‘against the injustice she is facing.’
She added that: ‘The aim of today is to put pressure on the Government and [Foreign Secretary] Dominic Raab to intervene and do something.
‘They’ve said a few words about being concerned but they haven’t taken any action. They should be out there they should be doing something.’
Speaking to the protesters, her twin sister Lucy Nevitt branded the woman’s treatment a ‘gross miscarriage of justice’.
She called on Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Government to take action, and added: ‘Why are you silent, why have you chosen the side of the oppressor.
‘Why are you allowing this gross miscarriage of justice to be inflicted upon a British citizen, be that one that is vulnerable and one that has already experienced unimaginable trauma.’
The teenager could face up to a year in jail and a 1,700 euro (£1,500) fine upon sentence after being found guilty of public mischief at Famagusta District Court, in Paralimni.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has conveyed concerns to his Cypriot counterpart over the treatment of the 19-year-old woman.
But Mr Raab, appearing on Sky’s Ridge On Sunday, warned that the case now needs to be handled ‘very sensitively’ to prevent doing anything ‘counter-productive’ between now and the teenager’s sentencing.
Israeli youth involved in the Cyprus gang-rape case will not sue British teen
An Israeli youth at the centre of the Cyprus gang rape has no plans to sue the British teen convicted of lying about the attack.
A lawyer who represented the man, who can only be identified as Sam, said he considers the matter ‘closed’ and doesn’t plan to ever talk about the incident.
The 18-year-old who lives with his mother and younger brother in Jerusalem has now been called up for National Service with the Israeli Defence Force.
‘For my client, he considers the matter closed,’ said lawyer Nir Yaslovitzh.
‘No one will be suing anyone. He will not be giving any interviews and for him it is closed. It is over. They do not want to talk about it.’
Pictured: The block of flats in which accused Israeli teen, ‘Sam’, lives with his mother and bother in Jerusalem
Yaslovitzh said the teen had begun his 32-month National Service after his plans for a career as a professional footballer failed.
‘He is no longer playing football. There is no football career for him and he has begun his service.’
All Israeli men aged over 18 are required to serve in the country’s army for two years and eight months.
The youth’s mother, Julia, said her son would never give an interview about what took place in Cyprus.
When Mail Online approached her at the family home in a low rise block of sandstone coloured flats five miles from the centre of the Holy city she slammed the door closed.
Minutes later she emerged and held up a mobile phone shouting:’ I have called the police. I have called the police.’
The police did not attend the fourth floor residence and Mr Yaslovitzh said his mother, who works as a florist at a local hospital, would not talk about her son.
During the trial of the 19-year-old British teen she claimed Sam had held her down with his knees on her shoulders while his friends raped and sexually assaulted her.
She said they had begun a holiday fling while she was in the Ayia Napa resort on a working holiday.
But after having consensual sex with him on two previous occasions she told the court he became aggressive and pinned her down while his friends piled into the room and assaulted her.
After she fled semi-naked from the budget hotel room Sam ran after her to apologise.
When police arrested him he denied having sex with the British teen, but later admitted they had slept together after undergoing a DNA test that proved he had been intimately involved.
It was Sam who gave the names to police of the others said to be involved.
Among those he said was present was 18-year-old Yona Golub.
He was able to prove his innocence by producing a ‘selfie’ he had taken with his girlfriend while the alleged rape took place at the Napa Pambos Rocks hotel in Ayia Napa last July.
Golub, from town of Afula, near Nazareth, said he still intends to sue the British teen for compensation and said he wanted to see the woman jailed.
The father of another of those arrested – and released without charge after five days – said his son will not be taking any legal action.
‘It is in the past and we do not want to dig up the past,’ he said.
‘What would be the point in going to court. There is no need and we do not wish to do that.’
The arrest of the 12 Israelis, aged from 15 to 22, made headlines in the country as did their release when they were filmed celebrating on arrival at Tel Aviv airport.
Many of the people who contributed to the gofundme account set up by the family of the British teen were from Israel.
More than 100 women are expected to make the 40 minute flight to Cyprus to show their solidarity with the teen when she appears before Judge Michalis Papathanasiou on Tuesday.
Student Leia Lazar, 31, said they wanted to be at court to show the woman that they believe her.
‘As a woman we cannot stand silent. We believe her and no woman should suffer like she has.
‘Women will be afraid to report rape to police when they see the victim get accused. It is not right.’
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