In a new policy, only female police members will be investigating rape cases in Cyprus following the Republic’s debacle in a much-publicized case of a young British woman gang-raped in Ayia Napa.
In January, the holiday island’s Supreme Court overturned the conviction of the British woman who was given a four-month suspended sentence for making up claims after withdrawing a complaint that she was gang-raped by young Israeli males while on a working holiday back in the summer of 2019.
The 2 to 1 ruling scolded law enforcement for failing to respect the young woman’s rights. And it further schooled the male judge who had convicted her of public mischief for failing to treat her fairly in his courtroom.
The case attracted international media from the very beginning after it emerged that the alleged victim and rape accuser claimed she was forced to withdraw her complaint during long interrogations by a male police officer and without the presence of a lawyer or interpreter.
Following the worldwide condemnation, female members of the anti-violence squad in district crime investigating departments have received special training on how to handle such incidents, Philenews reports.
Specifically, a victim’s testimony which should be recorded from minute one till the end will now be taken by a member of the police of the same sex.
