Jan. 31 (UPI) --
The Cyprus Supreme Court on Monday overturned the conviction of a British woman accused of lying about being gang raped in the country.
The unnamed woman from Derbyshire, Britain, was given a suspended four-month jail sentence in 2020 after a Famagusta District Court judge found her guilty of public mischief.
She told police she was attacked by 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room on July 17, 2019. The woman, who was 19 at the time, was charged after signing a retraction statement 10 days later.
The university student maintained that she was pressured by officials in Cyprus to withdraw her original statement.
"It is a great relief we hear that the authorities in Cyprus have recognized the flaws in their legal process," her family said in a statement, according to Sky News. "Whilst this decision doesn't excuse the way she was treated by the police or the judge or those in authority, it does bring with it the hope that my daughter's suffering will at least bring positive changes in the way that victims of crime are treated."
The woman was held on Cyprus for more than six months while awaiting her trial. She continued to insist that the rape allegation was genuine.
