Ayia Napa ‘rape lie’ Brit girl, 19, receives £7,500 donation from Israeli man to help pay legal fees after Go Fund Me appeal
A CROWDFUNDING page has now been setup for a British teenager who was arrested over false rape allegations in order to cover her legal fees.
The woman told police she had been raped by 12 Israeli men in the party resort of Ayia Napa but later accused police of dictated her confession and ordered her to sign it when she was arrested on a 'public mischief charge'.
The previous girl's lawyer, Andreas Pittadjis, dramatically quit on Wednesday after claiming he'd had a disagreement with his client's family.
But the page has now been setup, titled 'Help teen victim get justice in Cyprus', to raise £15,000 in order to fight the teens 'public mischief' charge.
The page has already raised £7,640, with most of that amount coming from a single donation from an Israeli man, who posted under the name Aryeh Fraser.
The girl's father wrote anonymously and asked for help, saying 'we just want to bring her home'.
He wrote: "In the early hours of Sunday the 28th of July 2019, following a week of traumatic events, our daughter was arrested for allegedly making a false allegation of rape in Cyprus and is currently being detained in prison awaiting trial.
"We maintain that the statement was given under duress and in breach of her rights, resulting in the collapse of the initial investigation and charges of public mischief being made against her.
"She is alone in a prison abroad after an awful series of events, we just want to bring her home.
"We are seeking funds to pay for the required legal representation in Cyprus.
"They are bringing together an expert legal team, from both the UK and Cyprus, to challenge the many breaches of her rights and require funds to do so.
He also added: "The crowdfund is being carried out in this way to protect the anonymity of our daughter who we believe to be the victim in this case. Any assistance possible to achieve justice would be gratefully received and any excess funds will be allocated to related women’s rights and legal charities at the end of the case."
LAWYER DISPUTE
The Brits former lawyer claimed that he and the women's relatives had different views on the way that the case should proceed.
The girl's family members are also said to have been unhappy with his handling of the case and questions had been raised about his strong ties with the governing party in Cyprus.
On Wednesday he spoke to media outside of the court in Cyprus and said: "There was a disagreement with my client and her family on how we should proceed with the case.
"I cannot say anymore as it would be breaching confidentiality.
"But we have had a difference in how the case should be handled and I asked to be dismissed."
It comes just days after the Sun Online reported that the woman, who has yet to be named, claims she was pressured to withdraw her complaint by detectives, who threatened to arrest her friends for “conspiracy” if she did not comply.
The teenager said that officers then dictated a statement in which she admitted faking allegations — and she reluctantly signed only because she was exhausted after eight hours at the police station.
None of the interviews were recorded — a basic requirement under UK law.
Her fight to clear her name has been taken up by British barrister Michael Polak, backed by an ex-Foreign Office diplomat and former Detective Superintendent David Swindle.
Mr Polak, of campaign group Justice Abroad, said: “The confession was obtained under oppression given the threats made.
"She was not cautioned and was not given access to a lawyer as was her right under the European Convention on Human rights.
“Further, the teenager was not told she could leave the police station nor given the option of leaving at any point.
“It is also understood that unfortunately none of the proceedings at the Cypriot police station were recorded.”
The Brit appeared back in court on Wednesday after being remanded for a further eights days following her appearance last week.
A witness said that the girl, wearing a black hoody and leggings, looked 'upset' and appeared to have been crying.
He mother was also present along with other family members as reporters were told to clear the room.
Court proceedings have now been adjourned following the lawyers request to withdraw and the teenager will now remain in Nicosia Prison until August 19.
TEEN'S FRANTIC MESSAGE
Minutes before she was charged, the girl had sent a frantic message to friends that broke off mid-sentence.
She wrote: “It’s crazy. They wouldn’t let me talk to anyone.
“I said I have a right to have a lawyer here. Not in Cyprus, maybe the UK not Cyprus.
“They’ve honestly made me sign false . . . ”
The teenager’s arrest just over a week ago came after she claimed she had been gang-raped in a hotel room in Ayia Napa — a resort infamous for the drunken, uninhibited behaviour of young tourists.
BRIT TEEN'S ACCOUNT
She told police she was having a holiday fling with one of the Israelis and had twice had sex with him previously.
On the night of the alleged attack, she said they went to his shared room.
A number of other Israelis are understood to have been in the room at the time but it is uncertain how many were there when the pair arrived.
The couple had sex but the British teenager said her partner became violent. She wept and begged him to stop.
She claimed he refused, then invited his friends to join in. She told police she finally fled naked and found her friends.
CYPRUS ARRESTS
Police arrested the 12 Israelis, aged between 16 and 19, and took DNA samples.
Five were later released but seven remained under arrest — until they too were freed after the teenager was asked to return to the police station.
The girl, still feeling the effects of medication doctors gave her, said police initially said they wanted to take another statement.
She went to the station voluntarily — only to find herself accused of inventing the attack. The student claims one officer warned her that police would go after her friends if she did not confess.
She messaged them to say: “Bad things with police.
“They think it’s a conspiracy and they threatened an international arrest warrant to arrest you all for it.”
One friend replied: “WTF. What the hell.”
The teenager said she held out against signing the dictated confession but eventually gave in. She was charged at 2.30am.
Within hours police announced she had changed her story not once but twice — first withdrawing her rape claim and then saying she had been filmed without consent.
ISRAELIS RELEASED
The Israelis were released and allowed to fly home.
But footage of them celebrating at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport by drinking champagne and chanting “The Brit is a whore” triggered an angry reaction among Jewish commentators.
Jewish Chronicle columnist Miriam Shaviv described the group as “scumbags who treated a woman like a piece of meat.” A grainy sex recording from the night of the alleged attack was also leaked to the Israeli media.
It reportedly shows one Israeli telling the girl in Hebrew, “You’re my whore. Say you’re my whore.”
When she asks what he is saying, another boy replies: “We are saying you’re sexy.”
QUESTIONS AROUND INVESTIGATION
Police reports of the incident seen by The Sun have also raised further questions about the conduct of the investigation
Medical examinations of two Israelis found “suspicious scratches” and bruises on their backs and chests, as if they had been in a struggle.
They told detectives they had been attacked at the hotel by the girl’s friends.
The hotel’s manager insisted no such fight took place.
An early police report noted how “suspect No1” — the teenager’s holiday fling partner — had changed his story.
Another Israeli recalled meeting five of his friends heading towards the room 30 minutes before the alleged attack occurred.
When suspect No1 was asked what his plans were, he allegedly said the girl was coming to the room for “an orgy.” As his four friends laughed, he is said to have added: “Everyone will have sex with her.”
The teenager, who grew up in rural Derbyshire, is described by friends as popular and “party loving”.
She had been in Ayia Napa on a working holiday for a fortnight before the alleged attack — staying at the two-star Pambos Napa Rocks hotel.
The Israeli group, some having a last break before three years’ military service, were also at the hotel, which is well known for its pool parties. A source said: “They were living it up, ogling the girls round the poolside and shouting things to each other in Hebrew like ‘All English girls are hookers!’”
Lust resort
AYIA Napa is popular with Israeli tourists and soldiers on leave — looking to let off steam in the resort famous for sun, sea, sand and sex.
The town — once the site of a medieval monastery — has more than 90 clubs and bars which are packed with partying tourists during summer.
It is particularly popular with holidaymakers from Israel because it is cheap and easy to reach.
During the summer months temperatures average at around 91F (33C) — with 27 local beaches to pick from. A pint of lager in the party district costs as little as £2.50 and meals are as cheap as £7.30.
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Photos taken before the alleged attack show the teenager sitting on one Israeli’s lap and posing with another on a night out.
She is now thought to be on remand in a prison awaiting a court hearing on Wednesday.
Local sources say it is likely to be four months until her trial.
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