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In
a case closely followed by rights groups, a district court in
the town of Paralimni ruled that the woman, aged 19 at the time,
had lied about being sexually abused by 12 Israeli teenagers.
Sentencing was set for Jan. 7.
The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested
after police said she had withdrawn an accusation that the
teenagers had raped her in a hotel room at the holiday resort of
Ayia Napa in July.
She was convicted of public mischief, which carries a fine, a
jail term of up to one year, or both.
The woman maintained that she had recanted her accusation under
duress from police during persistent questioning without a
lawyer present. Prosecutors and the court dismissed that claim.
"My conclusion is that the guilt of the accused has been proven
beyond reasonable doubt," the presiding judge said in his
verdict, describing her claims as inconsistent and adding that
she had attempted to mislead the court.
Her lawyers said she would appeal. Nonetheless, they urged the
court to exercise leniency in sentencing, including the
possibility of suspending any jail term.
"We believe there have been many violations in the procedure and
the rights of fair trial of our client have been violated," said
her lawyer, Nicoletta Charalambidou.
The Israelis were released without charge 10 days after being
arrested, on the day the woman retracted her accusation.
The individuals she had accused were not summoned to court
because prosecutors considered the case one of public mischief,
not rape.
In testimony in open court, the defendant said she had been in a
hotel room with one of the Israeli youths, with whom she had a
relationship, before others appeared and she was pinned down.
One defense witness, Marios Matsakis, a forensic pathologist who
formerly worked for the state, said the woman's injuries were
consistent with rape. Prosecutors said she had fabricated the
allegation, angry at being filmed during sex.
"This victim was never protected, from the first instance," said
Zelia Gregoriou, an activist who stood with about 20 individuals
protesting against the verdict. "From the first instance, she
was raped again and again by the press, by society and the legal
system."
The woman left the courthouse with a blanket over her face and a
handkerchief around her mouth, imprinted with an image of female
lips sewn shut.
(Reporting by Michele Kambas, editing by Louise Heavens, William
Maclean and Kevin Liffey)
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