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British teen gets suspended sentence in Cyprus after false gang-rape claim
- The 19-year-old was found guilty last month of falsely claiming she was gang-raped by 12 Israeli tourists
- She insists an assault took place and she was coerced by police into dropping the case
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A British teenager accused of faking a gang rape allegation was given a suspended sentence by a court in Cyprus on Tuesday in a case that prompted a rare rebuke from Britain and protests from activists who say she did not get a fair trial.
The 19-year-old says she was coerced by police into dropping a complaint that she was raped by a group of Israeli youths in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in July. She was convicted on December 30 of public mischief over the withdrawn rape report.
Dressed in black and standing silently before the judge in a packed courtroom, the woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was sentenced to four months in jail, suspended for three years.
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Raising his voice over chants from supporters of the woman outside, Judge Michalis Papathanasiou said the sentence took into account her age, clean criminal record and remorse, and that he was giving her a “second chance”.
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“All mitigating factors were taken into account but it does not negate the seriousness of the offence,” Papathanasiou said, noting that 12 individuals had been briefly detained on the basis of her accusation.
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