A British woman convicted of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus is said to be “anxious but upbeat” ahead of her appeal at the country’s Supreme Court.
The then 19-year-old, from Derby, was handed a suspended four-month jail term last year by a judge who found her guilty of public mischief following a trial.
She told police she was attacked by up to 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in the party town of Ayia Napa on July 17 2019 but was charged after signing a retraction statement 10 days later.
Now a 21-year-old university student, the woman has maintained she was pressured by officers to withdraw the rape allegation and has vowed to clear her name, having flown home from the holiday island hours after being sentenced.
Her team of English and Cypriot lawyers are taking the appeal to the Supreme Court, in Cyprus capital Nicosia, on Thursday arguing the conviction is unsafe and should be set aside.
The woman is not attending the hearing in front of a panel of three judges, including the English-born president Persefoni Panayi.
Her English barrister Lewis Power QC said:…
