The southern coastal resort town of Ayia Napa is known for its beaches, sunshine and cheap alcohol. Photo / Getty
The southern coastal resort town of Ayia Napa is known for its beaches, sunshine and cheap alcohol. Photo / Getty
Young British tourists holidaying in the resort town of Ayia Napa in Cyprus say they had concerns about a raucous pool party attended by a British woman who was allegedly gang raped by five Israeli men.
The young woman is believed to have been invited to the event at the Fedrania Gardens Hotel on Sunday and was then lured by the men to their hotel room, where she was allegedly raped by some or all of them.
The men, believed to be Arab Israelis aged between 19 and 20, were arrested and remanded in custody for eight days while Cypriot police carried out an investigation.
British holidaymakers staying at the three-star hotel said the pool party started around 4pm and ended around 9.30pm, with many guests continuing to the bars and nightclubs of Ayia Napa, a resort town known for its beaches, sunshine and cheap alcohol.
“There were a lot of guys compared to the number of girls. The ratio was really bad,” 23-year-old Luke from Devon, who asked that his surname not be used, told the Telegraph.
“We didn’t go because it didn’t look like fun at all. It was loud, just like any other pool party.”
The Fedrania Gardens Hotel in Ayia Napa. Photo / Google Maps
He said he was surprised to see “only two security guys” for such a large gathering.
Charlotte Ellis, 19, from Reading, a guest at the hotel, said: “I reckon there were about 300 people at the pool party. Lots of British [people], but also foreigners.”
The hotel is popular with Britons as well as Israelis. At the entrance, a tattered English flag flutters alongside an equally shabby Israeli flag. On a whitewashed wall, the name of the hotel was missing a letter.
Some guests were unimpressed with the facilities.
“This place is minging. I have cockroaches in my room. There’s a hairball in the shower. There’s only cold water. But they won’t let me move to another room,” said Lena, 20, from Wales.
Asked about the alleged sexual assault, a member of staff said: “We have orders from the police not to say anything. Whether the claims are true or not true, we don’t know.”
Police are understood to be studying CCTV footage to see if they can find evidence of the young woman being led away from the party to the Israelis’ room.
She eventually withdrew her claims under what she said was intense police pressure. Cypriot police then charged her with lying and causing public mischief. After a months-long trial, she was found guilty in January 2020 and given a four-month suspended prison sentence.
Two years later, the Supreme Court of Cyprus quashed her conviction on appeal, with her defence arguing there had been a miscarriage of justice.
The Arab Israeli men in the most recent case come from the town of Majd-al Kerum, inland of Acre, in northern Israel. Their lawyer, Nir Yaslovitz, also represented the Israeli men accused in the previous case.
“According to the police in Cyprus, there is a serious suspicion, but unfortunately we have experience with such cases. I hope that the truth will come out,” he said.
Michael Polak, a British lawyer who had a leading role in defending the British teenager in the first case, said on Wednesday that he is representing the young woman in the most recent allegations.
“Our client in this case is determined to see that justice is done. She has been assisting the Cypriot police with their investigations [in] this case and will continue to do so until she obtains justice,” he said.
“This is obviously a very difficult time for our client and her family, and she asks that her privacy is respected during the criminal proceedings,” added Polak, who is the director of Justice Abroad, which helps Britons involved in legal cases overseas.
He said he had concerns about how the Cypriot police will handle the latest allegations.
“There appear to be similarities between the facts of this case and the previous Ayia Napa rape case. It is hoped that the case is being investigated properly,” Polak said.
“It is best practice for the statements in a rape case to be recorded on video. However, I understand that these provisions still have not been introduced in Cyprus, nor has the wearing of body-worn cameras been introduced for the Cypriot police to record the first complaint at the scene, as well as their interaction with other witnesses and suspects.”
