The Famagusta Criminal Court has dismissed key DNA evidence in the ongoing trial of an alleged gang rape case involving a 20-year-old British woman in Ayia Napa.
Five young Israeli nationals are accused in the case which has attracted international attention.
On Monday, in an interim decision, the court sided with the defence ruling against the admissibility of DNA samples taken from two of the defendants. These individuals were purportedly in the room during the rape.
Defence attorney Paris Loizou successfully contested the submission of the DNA evidence, arguing that the cheek swabs from the accused were obtained without the necessary consent, breaching legal protocols.
Police arrested the five Israelis, aged 19 and 20 after the woman reported they allegedly raped her after forcing her into a hotel room in Ayia Napa on August 3, 2023.
Women’s advocacy groups are closely following the case due to the treatment of a British rape victim three years ago.
Last year, Cyprus’s Supreme Court acquitted a British woman who had been wrongfully convicted by a lower court of lying about being gang raped by 12 Israeli men in July 2019.
Read more:
