British woman in Cyprus rape claim case appeals to PM

A British woman convicted of falsely claiming she was gang-raped in Cyprus has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to intervene and bring her home, according to The Sun newspaper yesterday. “I am 19 and all I want to do is clear my name and come home to my family,” she was quoted as saying by the daily. “Time is running out for me.

Please, please help.” The teenager, who has not been named, was convicted by a court in Cyprus last week of lying about being attacked by 12 young Israeli tourists at a hotel in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in July. But she claimed police had pressured her into withdrawing her complaint.

The accused Israelis were then released while she was charged and later convicted of “public mischief”. Britain’s Foreign Office has said it was “seriously concerned” about whether she had received a fair trial, and the case has been taken up by rape survivors and rights groups. A protest march from the Cyprus high commission in London is set to take place on Monday, a day before the woman is due to return to court to be sentenced.

She faces up to a year in prison and a fine of about 1,700 euros (1,500 pounds, $1,900). Her family wants London to secure her release, as she has been unable to leave the Mediterranean island since the case began. Her mother told The Sun her daughter was convicted by a “kangaroo court”.