LAWYERS for a Brit wrongly convicted of faking a gang rape in Ayia Napa accused the ranting judge of “being against us from the start” and ignoring evidence of a bungled police investigation.
The teenager – who was finally cleared of lying by appeal judges today – had told cops she was the victim of a brutal attack but then found herself in a hellish three-year ordeal at the hands of the Cyprus legal system.
The student, now 21, was said to be “emotional” but “very happy” following her vindication at the Supreme Court in Nicosia.
She was convicted of lying about the July 2019 attack and given a suspended jail sentence, allowing her to leave the island after almost six months.
But today senior judges overturned a local court’s “flawed” verdict.
The girl’s mother said she will now push for a fresh investigation into the 12 alleged rapists, Israeli cadets who were all allowed home within days.
Barrister Michael Polak QC told The Sun: “The family and us are demanding that a different police force now investigates the original rape.
“It’s the right and proper thing to do.”
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He also told Sky: “For the family it’s a big moment. They put themselves through a lot to establish her innocence.”
After her conviction in January 2020, supporters said she was the victim of a shocking miscarriage of justice.
The Foreign Office has previously said it was “seriously concerned” over claims the judge did not give her a fair trial.
During the appeal last year, lawyers blasted detectives for breaching her rights when she was allegedly held without a lawyer for seven hours and made to sign a retraction in dodgy English.
Here we look back at how she found herself branded a criminal by the Ayia Napa police, the trial judge and even her boastful alleged attackers.
‘Bungled’ crime scene
Lawyers told the appeal hearing the hotel room was not secured, and the next day TV crews were allowed in – and found evidence the police missed.
The teen’s mum said an officer failed to take notes on the night of the attack because he was “too busy”.
Critically, cops did not order an internal examination of the girl despite blood being found, it was said.
Sources previously told The Sun no DNA swabs were taken from the girl’s fingernails, knees or ankles, where she claimed to have been held down by her attackers.
Twelve Israeli youths were arrested before being released without charge.
But the suspects were placed all in one cell together so they could “put their stories together”, Mr Polak told the appeal court.
The teenager’s friend later claimed the Cypriot police never had any intention of taking them seriously.
She said: “It was a stitch-up from the beginning. It felt as if they had made their minds up without even bothering to listen to us.
“We weren’t taken at all seriously and it felt as if we were being kept in the dark the whole time.”
‘Forced confession’
The teenage girl tearfully told cops she had been gang raped by 12 Israelis on July 17, 2019.
At that point she believed she was being taken seriously as a victim of a major crime.
The girl claimed cops privately warned her she should stay in Cyprus, rather than fly home to her family, or see the prosecution of her attackers dropped.
Eleven days later, on July 28, police asked to re-interview her as a witness.
She claims detectives then flipped on her and aggressively accused her of faking her entire story.
They claimed they had video proof of a consensual “orgy” and demanded she sign a retraction, it was said.
Speaking in December 2019, the teen said: “One moment I was a victim, the next, I was the accused.
“Eight hours of interrogation, denied access to a lawyer – while those accused of raping me had legal representation immediately.”
She also said she was frightened for her life, and was told her mother and pal would be arrested if she did not admit inventing the rape allegations.
Incredibly, there were no recordings from the police station, Mr Polak told the appeal panel.
And despite being a vulnerable teenager, he said she was denied legal representation.
Lawyers pointed out that her supposed retraction was in “Greeklish” — and had clearly not been written by the well-educated teenager.
Forensic linguistic specialist Dr Andrea Nini said: “What it appears to be is words dictated to her by someone else who didn’t speak English as their first language.”
Ranting ‘woman-hating’ judge
The shambolic court case at Famagusta District court was presided over by Judge Michalis Papathanasiou.
Observers said he terrorised proceedings with angry outbursts against the British teenager and her legal team.
The judge slammed her as an “unreliable witness” who had “repeatedly lied”.
And he reportedly lost his temper when the girl looked out of the window or simply gestured to her female lawyers.
He repeatedly shouted in Greek: “Show respect! Face the front, you must respect this court!”
At one point a woman court worker advised the teenager to keep her face expressionless.
She added: “I know it is hard but he’s just looking for an excuse to get angry.”
Expert witness Dr Marios Matsakis, who examined the girl’s medical reports, said: “The judge was shouting, he was aggressive. It was shameful.”
The Cypriot judge was also blasted as “vindictive” by the victim’s mother, and campaigners in Greece said the “woman-hating” judge should be sacked.
At the appeal, Mr Polak said Judge Papathanasiou “was against us even before any evidence was called”.
He also said the judge’s refusal to hear evidence about whether a rape took place made the trial a farce.
The judge shouted seven times “This is not a rape trial”, he said.
Bruises dismissed as ‘jellyfish sting’
The judge was accused of branding all defence witnesses “unreliable” and limiting them to ten minutes.
They included a respected Cypriot forensic expert who concluded the girl’s injuries were consistent with being raped.
But the judge sided with prosecutors who bizarrely claimed her bruises were caused by a jellyfish sting.
Despite evidence from experts, Judge Papathanasiou said: “I do not accept the complainant suffered a beating.”
Conversely, Judge Papathanasiou ruled that every one of the prosecution’s witnesses were “credible”.
Victim-blaming
The youths flew home to a hero’s welcome after their release, although any in the country said it was was a disgusting spectacle.
One lad was a footballer who was said to have had a brief holiday romance with the British girl – before his mates allegedly took turns to rape her.
After her conviction, Shimon Yusufov gave a gloating interview in which he said he “hoped she learned her lesson”.
His lawyer Nir Yaslovitzh told The Sun at the time: “We respect the decision of the judge and accept the sentence.
“What is important for us is that the judge found her guilty.
“The important thing is we hope the girl learns her lesson from all this.”
The lawyer added: “He takes the opinion that justice has been done.
“She was found guilty by the court of lying and I hope with this sentence she has learned her lesson.”
Yusufov, a striker for local football team Beit Shemesh, admitted having consensual sex with the student but denied any involvement in the sex attack.
