Cyprus travel advice is under review after rape case conviction
Travel advice for Britons going to Cyprus is under review, Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, has said, ahead of the sentencing of a teenager from Derbyshire, convicted of lying about being gang-raped on the island.
Mr Raab said while the Government had to avoid aggravating the authorities in Cyprus, the case was "firmly on my radar".
The 19-year-old woman will be sentenced on Tuesday after being found guilty of public mischief when she withdrew an allegation that she had been raped by 12 Israeli youths in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa last July.
The woman has since claimed she only withdrew the allegations after pressure from the Cypriot police.
It has now emerged that the teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had 35 bruises on her body when she was examined after the alleged attack, but the judge dismissed them as jellyfish stings.
Dr Marios Matsakis, a forensic pathologist, said: "The bruises I sketched show force was clearly exerted in her body, but the court accepted they were jellyfish stings, which is ridiculous."
Mr Raab acknowledged that the case needed to be handled "very sensitively" to prevent doing anything "counterproductive" ahead of the sentencing, but confirmed he had spoken to the girl's mother to offer support.
Asked if the Foreign Office would advise tourists against visiting Cyprus, he replied that it always kept its travel advice "under review".
The teenager, who has not been allowed to leave the island since the incident in July, could face up to a year in jail and a £1,500 fine.
But questions have been raised about the handling of the case after it emerged that the girl did not have legal representation during questioning.
Asked if he was worried there had been a miscarriage of justice, Mr Raab said: "We don't control the Cypriot justice system ... but there are clear questions around the due process, the fair trial, safeguards that have applied in this case."
He added: "The concerns we have and that I have, have been squarely and firmly and categorically registered with the Cypriot authorities."
The teenager initially told police she had been raped by 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in the party town of Ayia Napa on July 17.
The suspects were arrested but later released without charge when the girl retracted her complaint.
One of the Israeli men who was accused has now claimed the group is preparing to sue the girl for damages.
Yona Golub said: "We deserve compensation for what we went through."
