Israeli man accused of ‘gang rape’ of British teen in Cyprus vows to sue her

George Martin
Suspects cover their faces with their shirts as they arrive at the Famagusta courthouse in Paralamni, Cyprus, Friday, July 26, 2019. A Cyprus court has extended the detention of seven Israeli teenagers out of the 12 who were arrested as suspects in the rape of a 19-year-old British woman. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
The Israeli suspects leaving court earlier this year. (Getty)

One of the 12 Israelis accused of raping a British teenager in Cyprus last year has announced plans to sue her after she was convicted of fabricating the claims.

The 19-year-old woman was found guilty of public mischief by a Cypriot court last week after claiming to have been raped by up to 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room in the party town of Ayia Napa on July 17.

Following the incident, the dozen young men, aged between 15 and 20, were arrested but later freed after she signed a retraction statement 10 days later.

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”.

The British teenager was convicted of falsely claiming she was raped by the men. (Getty)
The British teenager was convicted of falsely claiming she was raped by the men. (Getty)

“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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The young woman maintains she was raped but forced to change her account under pressure from Cypriot police.

She 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.

It comes as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the Government is “careful” of aggravating authorities in Cyprus ahead of her sentencing.

File photo dated 23/7/2019 of Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has summoned the Chinese ambassador after a former employee of the UK's Hong Kong consulate alleged he was tortured in China.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the government would be “careful” of aggravating authorities in Cyprus ahead of her sentencing this week. (Getty)

Mr Raab conveyed concerns to his Cypriot counterpart over the treatment of the woman and 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.

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.”