Judge tells woman, 19, she will have to stay on the island until 30 December for verdict

A British teenager accused of fabricating claims she was gang-raped in Cyprus by 12 Israeli tourists has been told she will have to spend Christmas on the island before a verdict is reached.

The ongoing ordeal for the 19-year-old was further prolonged on Thursday when a court in Paralimni said the final judgement would be reached on 30 December – almost six months after the alleged incident occurred.

The Briton, who spent a month in Nicosia general prison before being moved to various safe houses, has been forced to surrender her passport on the grounds she might flee the island.

The adjournment was announced after her legal team had tabled 32 pages of written arguments as to why the student should not be found guilty of fomenting public mischief, the offence of which she now stands charged.

Her lawyers expressed surprise that a case that has sent shockwaves through Cyprus, Israel and Britain, should be further prolonged.

The four-strong legal team had anticipated the judge would return his verdict before Cypriot courts close for the Christmas recess on December 20.

In a statement Michael Polak, a barrister with Justice Abroad, the legal aid group assisting the girl, said: “The evidence in this case remains strongly in the teenager’s favour in regards to her account being correct as to what occurred that night … we were particularly surprised that it will take two and a half weeks for the court to deliver its verdict … Since reporting the rape she has spent a month in prison and six months where she has been unable to leave Cyprus.”

The Briton, who will only be named if found culpable of the crime, reported the assault in July telling police she was gang raped in the seaside resort of Ayia Napa by 12 Israelis aged between 15 and 22. The accused were immediately rounded up and remanded in custody.

In graphic testimony before the court she said the alleged incident took place while she was having consensual sex with one of the group.

But the teenager retracted the assertion less than a month after making the claim, in a poorly written confession that her lawyers have since argued she was coerced into signing by Cypriot police.

Turning from victim to suspect overnight, she was arrested on charges of giving a false statement “over an imaginary offence”. The alleged assailants were allowed to fly home. Cyprus’s economy depends on tourism and the former British colony has earned a reputation as a magnet for young holidaymakers in recent years.