Cyprus court postpones hearing in rape accusation case
The woman is being held on suspicion of public mischief in a case that caused an uproar in Israel.
By REUTERS, JERUSALEM POST STAFFA British tourist covers her face as she is escorted to a police car outside the Famagusta courthouse in Paralimni, Cyprus, July 29(photo credit: YIANNIS KOURTOGLOU/REUTERS)
PARALIMNI, Cyprus – A court in Cyprus postponed a hearing on Monday in the case of a 19-year-old British woman suspected of falsely accusing a group of Israelis of gang rape.The woman was arrested on Sunday after police said she withdrew an accusation that 12 Israeli teenagers raped her in a hotel room in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in mid-July."Because of your lies, 12 young boys were falsely arrested," the judge told her, according to Maariv. "Five were released [immediately] but you later caused more suffering to the other seven."The woman is being held on suspicion of public mischief in a case that caused an uproar in Israel.Cypriot authorities, who initially arrested 12 Israelis for questioning, released five last week and the remaining seven on Sunday. They had all denied any wrongdoing.A district court in the town of Paralimni postponed the remand hearing because the woman's lawyer was not present. It was re-scheduled for Tuesday.
