British teenager ‘who was raped on a Greek holiday’ wins human rights ruling after police ‘forced her to face bartender suspect, ignored report detailing bruises and then closed the case’
- Mrs
- The ECHR ruled that prosecutors had not looked at damning evidence of the crime
- She was forced to face the alleged attacker twice, once while in the hospital
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has ruled in favor of a British woman who sued Greek police and prosecutors for failing to properly investigate her rape claims.
The victim, known only as Mrs.
The woman, who was 18 at the time and is from West Yorkshire, reported the attack to police but was not told about the investigation.
She saw her alleged attacker in hospital when she was examined by a male doctor who examined her, took blood samples from her and noticed bruises on her legs, thighs and genitals.
The ECHR, which ruled on the case today, ruled that the police had made no effort to keep the suspect away from her.
The victim, known only as Mrs.
The ECHR, which ruled on the case today, ruled that the police had made no effort to keep the suspect away from her (IMAGE)
She also identified him during a queue at a police station and had to sign documents in Greek, despite not being given an official translation.
Ms
The bartender was later acquitted due to ‘insufficient evidence’.
The woman herself emailed the public prosecutor’s office in January 2021, nine months before a Greek court ruled on the case, to request all police and hospital data.
But she was told that in her own rape case she was ‘not a civil party to the case as she had not declared this in her statement to the police and had not paid the relevant costs’.
In addition, she was told that she had not appeared to testify before the investigating judge the day after the alleged attack and that she had not appointed a lawyer to represent her.
ECtHR judges said: ‘Mrs.
The court highlighted several attempts, through official channels, including the British Embassy in Athens, to obtain information from authorities in Greece.
The court also said: ‘From the outset she had not been informed of her right to receive information about the progress of the investigation and her role in it, and had not been provided with information in a language she could understand about the proceedings and legal measures. at her disposal, even though she had explicitly indicated in her statement to the police that she wanted the suspect to be prosecuted and punished.’
It added that investigating authorities “had not taken any measures to prevent her from being further traumatized and had not taken sufficient account of her needs.”
‘They had not informed her of her rights as a victim, such as her right to legal aid, her right to receive information and to object to the interpretation.
‘Furthermore, they had not taken adequate measures to alleviate what was clearly a painful experience for her, such as her interactions with the police, the medical examination and the fact that she was face to face with the suspect in the hospital and during the identification. procedure.’
The court also highlighted a systemic problem in Greece regarding low conviction rates, which it said “suggested that investigative procedures were ineffective or that an unreasonably high threshold was applied to reach a conviction.”
It also found that while Greek laws provided significant rights to victims of ‘gender-related crimes’, ‘most provisions were not fully implemented in practice and the experience of the criminal justice system was still very traumatic for many women and girls who were victims. .’