Yahoo News British teenager accused of making false Ayia Napa rape claim ‘faces year in prison and multi-million damages suit’
A British teenager accused of making a false claim she was raped by 12 men in Ayia Napa could face a year in prison and a multi-million pound damages claim, it has been reported.
The 19-year-old woman appeared in a court in Cyprus on Monday accused of lying to police that she was raped by a dozen Israeli men in a hotel room.
A lawyer for the men says they plan to sue the woman after they were arrested on July 18 and held in custody for nine days, the Sun reported.
The 12 men have since been released and all have returned to Israel.
The woman, who cannot be named, was taken in handcuffs with a jacket over her head to a court in Cyprus, where she has been charged with causing a public nuisance.
A police spokesman said she could face a prison sentence of up to one year and a maximum fine of £1,000 if found guilty. The hearing was postponed for a day.
The woman allegedly made up the rape claim because she was “angry and insulted” that some of the men filmed her having consensual sex with others at the Pambos Napa hotel in the Cypriot resort, it was reported.
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A lawyer for the men said they intend to sue the British teenager.
Israeli lawyer Yaniv Habari said the men would “pursue legal action against the person behind the false accusations that led to being unjustly detained”.
He told the AFP news agency: “We will claim damages for the suffering of our clients.”
Mr Habari told The Sun: “We will proceed with legal action against the individual that made the false allegations, for damages, for every day and every moment they were in prison falsely.
“The claim against her is being drafted at the moment by my clients who are still all very traumatised by what they have been through. They will be suing for loss of earnings, defamation and the suffering that was caused to them by her claims.”
Ayia Napa is extremely popular with young people and 1.3 million Britons visited Cyprus last year.
