U.K. Tourist in Cyprus Rape Case: I Was Forced to Retract Accusations Against Israelis
'19-year-old's legal counsel says she was pressured by police, denied access to lawyer before purportedly confessing to fabricating accusations against 12 Israelis.
A British tourist said she was pressured to retract her rape allegations against 12 Israeli men by the Cyprus police after they threatened to arrest her friends on conspiracy charges, according to Justice Abroad, the organization providing legal assistance to the teenager's family.
Cyprus police released seven Israelis who were arrested on suspicion of gang raping of the 19-year-old woman last Sunday. The tourist was then arrested on suspicion of misleading authorities. All accusations against the group of 12 Israelis, five of whom were released two weeks ago, were dropped.
According to Justice Abroad, subsequent police reports stating that the tourist voluntarily recanted her allegations have been denied by the family. The organization cited family members as asserting that the teenager was taken to the police station while on medications, where she provided a further statement about the allegations. A police officer told her he believed she was lying and urged her to write a confession and that he would arrest her friends in Cyprus if she did not agree. She requested a lawyer and was denied, according to the organization.'
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