Bumbling officers investigating the gang rape of British women in Ayia Napa ‘are told they cannot provide DNA evidence after being denied permission to take swabs from two Israeli suspects’

Cypriot police officers investigating the gang rape of a British woman have been told they cannot provide vital DNA evidence because they were not given permission to take the swabs.

Five Israeli men between 19 and 20 years old The Arab town of Majd al-Krumare is on trial at the Famagusta District Court accused of the kidnapping and gang rape of a 20-year-old British tourist at the Fedrania Gardens hotel in September 2023.

All five men deny the charges against them.

On Monday, the court was forced to rule that key DNA evidence from two of the men allegedly in the hotel room was inadmissible after officers failed to follow the correct procedure to obtain it.

The group, all aged between 19 and 20, were detained after the woman complained to police that she had been targeted following a pool party in Ayia Napa in September (file image)

The defendants’ lawyer, Paris Loizou, argued that police had not provided his clients with a written consent form, so they did not know they had the right to refuse the swabs.

Even though the officers stated this verbally, it was in English, so his defendants did not understand it.

This decision means that the outcome of the trial will depend on the remaining witness statements, including from the victim.

The alleged victim’s lawyer, Michael Pollak, from London-based legal aid group Justice Abroad, told MailOnline that the Briton is willing to testify in court “to see justice done”.

‘The victim will most likely testify in January 2024 as she wants to prevent this from happening to anyone else. She is determined to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice,” he said.

The case tragically resembles a 2019 incident in which an 18-year-old British holidaymaker alleged she was raped by twelve Israeli men aged between 15 and 22.

According to a leaked report, the alleged victim had bruises and injuries consistent with an assault and a statement from her was read by the prosecutor who carried out the horrific attack, which is too graphic to publish.

During pre-trial hearings, the court also heard that several staff had witnessed the aftermath of the alleged attack and would testify – including how they saw the victim flee by climbing out of a second-floor window at the three-star Fedrania Gardens hotel.

A forensic examination of the room where the attack took place found traces of blood on the floor and on sheets on the bed.

The police van carrying the five Israelis accused of raping a British woman arrives at the Famagusta District Courthouse in Paralimni, Cyprus, for an earlier hearing in September.

Relatives of Israeli men detained over the alleged rape of a British woman stand outside the courthouse in Paralimni during an earlier hearing in October

The woman told police that one of the five men forcibly took her to his room after grabbing her hand while she was partying with friends around the pool on September 3.

She said the man tried to take off her bathing suit as she begged him to let her leave.

The other suspects then entered the room and one had intercourse with her against her will and another forced her to perform oral sex, while two others held her down on the bed, she said. She said a suspect also held her against a wall and raped her.

The 20-year-old said she managed to lock herself in the bathroom and started screaming for help.

The Briton said she was able to flee the room by pushing the suspects aside and rejoined her friends, who went with her to report the incident to police, she said.

At an earlier hearing in October, the five Israeli men had entered not guilty pleas to rape, sexual assault by penetration, sexual intercourse by force, rape by forcible sexual penetration, indecent assault against a woman, sexual harassment and kidnapping.

They had appeared in the Famagusta courtroom, which was packed with their relatives who showed up to plead their innocence and show support.

All five defendants had kept a straight face throughout the proceedings but could not contain their emotions as the hearing ended.

Families flocked to hug the defendants before they were led away to return to their cells, with one of the men on trial breaking down in tears as he hugged his mother.

The process continues.