It’s clear where the guilt lies in Ayia Napa rape case… the Cypriot legal system

WHEN two rapists were acquitted on appeal last year, a section of the ruling by three female judges defied belief.

They agreed with the defendants that the female victim was “too masculine” to be a target of attraction.

Yes, you read that correctly. In the supposedly progressive 21st century.

The two men were originally convicted by an Italian court but the controversial judgment was made at appeal — before being overturned by the supreme court, which said the woman’s looks are

“irrelevant” and dismissed the ruling as “eccentric”. Quite right too.

But it’s a stark reminder that supposedly civilised societies the world over still have a way to go in their attitude to this potentially ruinous crime.

It has nothing to do with what you look like, where you were at the time, your sexual history or how much alcohol has been drunk.

It’s a violent and violating act against not only your body but your once-peaceful state of mind, and allegations should always be treated with the utmost seriousness until proven or otherwise.

The latest breach of this golden rule has just taken place in a Cypriot court, where a young British woman who claims she was raped by up to 12 men was found guilty of “causing public mischief”, defined by the Cypriot criminal code as knowingly providing police with “a false statement concerning an imaginary offence”. Does anyone seriously believe she consented to sex with up to 11 other men after they burst in on her and her boyfriend?

Or is the contemptible insinuation that, because she was working in a resort famous for drunken exploits, her consent to have sex with her boyfriend in his hotel room meant the lines were blurred?

BODY BRUISES

Then there’s the body bruises that tally with her version of events, the fact she went straight to the police, who interrogated her alone for eight hours, and the curiously worded “retraction statement” that a linguistics expert claims she couldn’t have written.

In fact, outside of the Cypriot legal system, just about everyone who has come into contact with the alleged victim says they believe her claims, as do those showing their support outside the court.

She says the police became very aggressive during her initial interview and when she mentioned her right to a lawyer, they responded with: “Maybe that’s what happens in the UK, but not in Cyprus.”

Worth remembering if your son or daughter is planning to celebrate the end of their exams in the Ayia Napa resort where the money-making ethos of cheap booze and deeply questionable sex games is routinely overlooked by the authorities.

Experience tells us that, occasionally, people make false accusations, but every aspect of this case points towards a serious crime taking place and the Cypriot “justice” system behaving in a very shabby, misogynistic and backside-covering way to protect its lucrative tourism industry.

And if the hitherto good name of a “whore” — as one of the accused shamefully referred to her — gets trashed in the process, what do they care?

Now, after one month in prison and a further five of virtual incarceration in Cyprus after having her passport removed, the young woman was yesterday on her way back to the UK after being given a four-month sentence suspended for three years.

Presumably, Cyprus hopes this will be the end of this deeply troubling case, but I sincerely hope that its shabby practices are put under the microscope of a higher court so the world can see what happens when you attempt to treat a young woman’s claims of such a traumatic ordeal as an irrelevance.

SHABBY PRACTICES

Meanwhile, to anyone who uses the word “rape” in a cavalier fashion then later claims it was a joke, I urge you to stop right now.

Last year, Made In Chelsea star Charlie Mills put out a now deleted Instagram post that he and a friend were going to “f***ing rape” a laughing girl they were sharing a cab with.

And in 2016, Labour’s Jess Phillips — now standing for leader of the party — revealed that she had received around 600 online rape threats in just one night from those opposed to her political views.

The alarming revelation prompted Ukip’s Carl Benjamin to respond with a Tweet saying: “I wouldn’t even rape you.”

Oh how we all laughed. Not.

Sorry, but some things just can’t be joked about, and the deeply affecting crime of rape is one of them.

Until we all sign up to that, then the dangerously outdated attitudes shown by authority figures in Italy and Cyprus will continue to prevail.

Kim off it, love

REALITY star Kimberley Garner has posted an Instagram photo of her “reading” a broadsheet newspaper (oooh, get her) while, natch, dressed in an itsy bitsy, teeny weeny yellow cossie.

The unwritten subtext being, “I’m gorgeous and, ahem, abreast of the potential geo-political crisis in the Middle East.”

Trouble is, the paper’s upside down. Doh.

Next time, perhaps a pair of glasses might be an easier way to highlight one’s intelligence.

As you can see, it works for me.

Friends Firth

GWYNETH Paltrow and Chris Martin are the poster couple for friendly divorce, but Colin Firth and his estranged wife Livia aren’t far behind.

They saw in the New Year together (meaning that neither their children nor their friends had to choose between them) and posted this happy photo with his arm around her shoulder. Quite right too.

Whatever has gone on behind closed doors, they clearly still get on and it’s a reminder that when a marriage ends, the hard-earned friendship doesn’t have to go with it.

Mr and Misses

RESEARCH shows that a quarter of couples now, “live apart together”.

In other words, they are in a committed relationship but not co-habiting.

A large slice of this statistic are young couples who can’t yet afford to move in together, but 11 per cent are those aged 55 and over who want to prioritise other responsibilities or children and like their own space.

Just think, no more hogging of the TV with football marathons, the bathroom staying exactly as you left it, not having to hide your sugary treats, no smelly socks and shoes overwhelming your strategically placed diffusers – utter bliss!

I have suggested adjoining apartments with a connecting door, but The Bloke responds plaintively that I would keep my side permanently locked.

That’s the trouble with long marriages – your other half knows you too well.

Pjs gone Potty

TESCO is selling Harry Potter pyjamas with a warning not to wear them in bed.

This reminds me of the one and only time I bought a “designer” swimsuit, which cost a small fortune and came with instructions to avoid use with sunscreen, chlorine, saunas or jacuzzis.

In other words, just leave it in the box and it will last you for ever.

Go to work in an egg

THIS is the S-pod, an egg-shaped “personal transporter” from Segway that’s expected to go on sale next year.

It reaches a speed of 25mph and, as you can see from the photo, you can keep your slippers on.

In fact, you could potentially drive it straight from your living room to the local kebab shop.

And if they ever design one with an in-built commode, there will be no need to move out of it at all.

Something tells me the obesity crisis isn’t going to be solved any time soon.

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