By Ben Kerrigan-
Boris Johnson is under pressure to intervene in the case of Scottish teenager found guilty of lying about being gang-raped in Cyprus has pleaded with Boris Johnson to “bring me home”.
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons claims to have been raped by up to 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in the town of Ayia Napa on 17 July. At the time of her allegation, a group of British tourists had attacked the accused Israeli’s in a show of solidarity with the girls.
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
The unnamed girl alleges that Cypriot police forced her to sign a retraction which led to her being convicted of public mischief at Famagusta district court in Paralimni. In a heart rendering plea through the Uk Sun Newspaper she said:
“Every second of this ordeal has been a waking nightmare.
I’m 19 and all I want to do is clear my name and come home to my family,” she told the Sun. “I would say to both the foreign secretary and prime minister, both of whom are fathers, please support me with your actions, not just with your words.” Cyprus police say the girl falsely accused the 12youths of raping her after consenting to sex, because she had been filmed by the Israeli youths.
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the UK was “seriously concerned about the “fair trial guarantees in this deeply distressing case and we will be raising the issue with Cypriot authorities”. It contacted the teenager’s family on Thursday, the first time since she was convicted.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
The former Cypriot justice minister Kypros Chrysostomides has urged the attorney general, Costas Clerides, to intervene in the case. “She has already been in detention for four and a half weeks and she has been prevented from travelling for about five months already,” Chrysostomides said.
BOYCOTT
The teenager’s mother today called for a boycott of the country’s tourism, She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Wednesday: “The place isn’t safe, it is absolutely not safe. And if you go and report something that’s happened to you, you’re either laughed at, as far as I can tell, or in the worst case, something like what’s happened to my daughter may happen.”
POST TRAUMATIC STRESS
The woman said her daughter was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, hallucinations and sleeping for up to 20 hours a day due to hypersomnia. An online crowdfunding appeal to raise money for legal support for the teenager has passed £120,000, exceeding its £105,000 goal.
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar