A British woman who claimed she was gang-raped in Cyprus has been arrested on suspicion of making a false accusation as police released seven Israeli tourists from custody. The 19-year-old woman had claimed that 12 Israeli teenagers raped her on July 17 at a hotel in the popular holiday resort of Ayia Napa. The teenagers were remanded in custody the following day. Five were sent home hours before their second scheduled court hearing last Thursday after no evidence was found against them. The other seven were released on Sunday after the woman reportedly changed her story after being shown video evidence by investigators. The woman told investigators she initially filed a rape report after feeling “angry and insulted” that some of the Israelis had filmed her having sex with them, according to the state-run Cyprus News Agency. “I went down from the room and met two of my friends. I told them what had happened and they immediately told me to file a complaint with police,” Israeli media outlet Channel 12 quoted her as saying. The suspects told the outlet that the woman agreed to be filmed and “everything was consensual.” “She wanted sex,” one of them said. During a custody hearing last week, investigators told a court in the town of Paralimni that the woman was in a relationship with one of the seven suspects and had sexual contact with some of the other six over several days, according to Yiannis Habaris, a Cypriot lawyer representing two of the suspects. “As I have argued throughout the process, there was no rape in Cyprus,” said Nir Yaslovitzh, an Israeli lawyer representing some of the remaining suspects. “The young men who went on a vacation that became a nightmare will go home today.” On their release the young men were greeted outside the police district headquarters in Paralimni by jubilant family members. The 12 Israelis had come to Ayia Napa in three separate groups, some on holiday before being inducted into the army, and did not know each other, said Mr Yaslovitzh. On his release from custody, the Israeli teen considered the prime suspect said, “the truth has been revealed.” “God will punish her. We don’t care whether she is prosecuted, the main thing is that she has been arrested,” he told the Times of Israel. “All the teenagers coming to Ayia Napa need to be careful.” The UK provides Cyprus with its biggest tourist market, with over 1.3 million British tourists visiting the eastern Mediterranean island last year, according to official Cypriot statistics. Cyprus is also a major destination for Israeli tourists, with more than 230,000 visiting in 2019. Ayia Napa Mayor Yiannis Karousos told Israel’s Channel 13 news that legal action would be taken against anyone involved in the false allegation, including the woman herself. “In the following days, the council of ministers will approve the installation of CCTV cameras around the city of Ayia Napa, the first of their type in Cyprus,” he added. “Because tourists don’t just have to be safe, they have to feel they are safe.”
