EXCLUSIVE: British woman, 20, ‘raped by five Israelis’ in Cyprus ‘was forcibly dragged to hotel room’ and has injuries similar to assault
- A British woman was reportedly assaulted by Israeli men at the Fedrania Gardens Hotel
A British girl who says she was raped by five Israeli men while on holiday in Cyprus has “bruises and injuries” suggestive of an assault, a leaked report has found.
The 20-year-old woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, reported to authorities that he was targeted last Sunday while in the party town of Ayia Napa.
The police immediately arrested the five suspects after the woman had submitted a ‘concise and detailed’ complaint and officers also spoke to her friends.
The case bears a striking resemblance to a case from the same 2019 report, which also involved a British girl who was raped by a group of Israelis.
They were initially apprehended and later released, with the Derbyshire victim amazingly charged and later convicted of wasting police time.
However, she later won her case on appeal and the crime was overturned on appeal by the Supreme Court of Cyprus after the story made headlines around the world.
In the latter case, MailOnline can exclusively reveal that the incident took place at the three-star Fedrania Gardens Hotel after the girl was invited there to a party while she was staying elsewhere.
Tourists stand on a newly opened beach in Famagusta, Cyprus on October 9, 2020 (file image)
The leaked report details her injury — including grip marks — and adds that she told police she was “forcibly dragged” to a room in the hotel and attacked by the group.
Officers are expected to examine the hotel’s CCTV footage to verify her claims and a source said they would like to avoid “sweeping under the rug” allegations.
Sheets and clothing worn by the girl and the group were sent for forensic examination as part of the investigation.
In her account, the woman says: ‘At a certain point they came up to me and started flirting with me.’
She goes on to say that two went with her to a room where she was attacked, and others followed her and she immediately reported the incident to hotel security personnel.
The group — all of whom are Arab-Israelis from the town of Majd-al Krum, ten miles from Acre — denies any wrongdoing and insists the sexual encounter was consensual.
The case bears a striking resemblance to a case from the same 2019 report, which also involved a British girl who was raped by a group of Israelis. Some of the seven male Israeli tourists arrive to appear before the Famagusta court in Paralimni, Cyprus, July 26, 2019
Their lawyer, who also represented the previous group, Nir Yaslovitz, said: ‘The case is still only in the preliminary investigation phase, and at this point I suggest we remain calm before jumping to conclusions.
“I intend to do everything in my power to secure their release from custody.”
The men, said to be between the ages of 19 and 20, have been remanded in custody until a new hearing next week.
A receptionist from the Fedrania Gardens told MailOnline: ‘We are not allowed to say anything. The girl wasn’t staying here, that’s all I can say.’
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Orit Sulitzeanu, director of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel, said the news of the suspected incident is part of a series of gang sexual abuse cases, which often involve footage of the event.
She said: “This case is a warning to Israeli society, because this is not an isolated case, but rather a dangerous phenomenon of group sexual abuse that is developing here as part of the culture of recreation abroad, as happened in 2019 in Ayia Napa, about a month ago in Rhodes and in 2019 in Crete.
“The education system in Israel plays a vital role in educating young people in healthy sexuality and preventing sexual harm, in discussing what constitutes consent and, of course, the issue of photographing and distributing videos, which constitute a criminal offense .’