Five Israeli Men Cleared of Gang Rape Charges in Cyprus Court

The Famagusta criminal court's ruling, citing inconsistencies in the accuser's testimony, leads to discussions about consent and legal standards in sexual assault cases.

In a significant legal decision, a Cyprus court has acquitted five Israeli men of gang rape charges stemming from an incident involving a 20-year-old British woman. On Monday, the Famagusta criminal court found the defendants—between the ages of 19 and 20 and hailing from Majd al-Krum—innocent of multiple charges, including two counts of rape, sexual abuse, forced sexual intercourse, sexual harassment, and abduction.

The allegation arose from an incident reported in September 2023, where the woman claimed she was assaulted by the five men while on vacation. The trial commenced in October 2023, and the defendants staunchly denied all allegations against them.

The court's findings highlighted that the woman's testimony had significant inconsistencies and was marked by a lack of credibility. It noted that issues such as misidentification, which can complicate such cases, were present and that her statements about being removed from a crowded party did not align with a friend's account of her voluntarily going upstairs.

Further complicating the matter, laboratory tests revealed high levels of alcohol and traces of narcotics (MDA and MDMA) in the woman's system; although the court found this did not impair her ability to consent, she described feeling only "slightly dizzy."

The alleged actions described by the woman were also called into question. The court deemed her claim that she shouted for help during the incident as unconvincing since nearby individuals reported hearing nothing. Additionally, discrepancies arose as she fluctuated between claiming that one individual had assaulted her to alleging multiple men were involved.

Ultimately, the judges stated they could not definitively establish whether any physical abrasions found on her body were from the alleged incident or may have occurred during a consensual encounter, raising further concerns about the evidence's reliability. The trial included closed-door proceedings to protect the involved parties' identities and dignity.