The British teenager who was found guilty about being gang-raped in Cyprus will be sentenced tomorrow and could be jailed.

The 19-year-old had reported she was raped by up to 12 tourists from Israel in a hotel room in the resort of Ayia Napa on July 17.

She has said Cypriot police forced her to sign a retraction statement which led to her being convicted of public mischief at Famagusta District Court, in Paralimni.

"Every second of this ordeal has been a waking nightmare," the woman said, in an interview last week.

"I'm 19 and all I want to do is clear my name and come home to my family," she added in quotes reported in The Sun.

(Image: AP Photo/Philippos Christou)

She added: "I would say to both the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, both of whom are fathers, please support me with your actions, not just with your words."

The Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, has said the government is "careful" of aggravating authorities in Cyprus ahead of tomorrow's sentencing.

He conveyed concerns to his Cypriot counterpart over the treatment of the 19-year-old woman, who was found guilty of public mischief.

The UK has previously expressed concerns about "fair trial guarantees" in the "deeply distressing case".

It has emerged that the woman had 35 bruises on her body, but the judge in the case dismissed them as jellyfish stings.

But Mr Raab, appearing on Sky's Ridge On Sunday, warned that the case now needs to be handled "very sensitively" to prevent doing anything "counter-productive" between now and the teenager's sentencing on Tuesday.



It comes as one of the 12 Israeli youths accused of taking part in the gang-rape has vowed to pursue the young woman through the courts for compensation.

Mr Raab told Sky: "I have conveyed our concerns about her treatment and the case to my Cypriot opposite number.

"I did that on Friday, and I also have also spoken to the young lady's mother to see what more support we can provide to her.

"So we also need to be careful that we don't do anything which aggravates the situation between now (and) the date of sentencing, which is on Tuesday.

"But the concerns that we have and that I have, have been squarely and firmly and categorically registered with the Cypriot authorities."

But she was charged and the dozen young men, aged between 15 and 20, who were arrested over the incident were freed after she signed a retraction statement 10 days later.

She maintains she was raped but forced to change her account under pressure from Cypriot police.

The teenager could face up to a year in jail and a 1,700 euro (£1,500) fine upon sentence after being found guilty of public mischief at Famagusta District Court, in Paralimni.

But a forensic pathologist, Dr Marios Masakis, told the Mirror that the teenager could have been drugged before the attack and it is "another aspect which was not fully explored".

On what he would do if he felt there had been a miscarriage of justice, Mr Raab said Cyprus was "sensitive" about perceived political interference.

(Image: PA)

Mr Raab said on Sunday: "We don't control the Cypriot justice system, they're very sensitive in Cyprus about perceived political interference, but there are clear questions around the due process, the fair trial, safeguards that have applied in this case."

He said the "first priority" is to see the teenager released, adding: "So that's what we're doing and we obviously need to handle this case very sensitively to make sure we don't do anything counter-productive."

The Foreign Office previously issued a statement saying it was "seriously concerned" about the "fair trial guarantees in this deeply distressing case and we will be raising the issue with Cypriot authorities".

One of the men accused of taking part in the gang-rape, Yona Golub, told The Mail On Sunday that the group were "preparing to sue her".

"We deserve compensation for what we went through. I don't know how much I should get," he told the newspaper.

"They need to put her in prison and only afterwards should they deal with the compensation."

The 18-year-old claims he was in a different hotel room, but was arrested because he was on holiday with two friends who had been in the same room.

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