The president of Cyprus could pardon a 19-year-old British woman convicted of lying about an alleged gang rape by Israeli tourists in a holiday resort if the judge in the case sentences her to prison on Tuesday.

There is speculation that President Nicos Anastasiades could assuage some of the anger over the handling of the case, which has caused a diplomatic rift between Cyprus and Britain and raised accusations of a miscarriage of justice.

The teenager was found guilty last week by a Cypriot court of fabricating her account of being raped by a group of Israeli men in a hotel in the resort of Ayia Napa last July.

She strongly denies lying about the alleged attack and insists she is innocent of the charge of public mischief. She will be sentenced on Tuesday and could be sent to prison for up to a year and fined £1,500.

The conviction could dash her dreams of becoming a police officer – she had hoped to study criminology at university and wanted to specialise in counter-terrorism.

Local reports say Mr Anastasiades could bow to pressure from the teenager’s supporters and Cypriot civil society groups for a pardon to be granted.