Five Israeli men accused of gang-raping a British woman in Cyprus are facing trial (Picture: AFP)
The trial of five men who allegedly gang-raped a British tourist in a hotel room in Cyprus has begun.
A 20-year-old woman claims the group, all Israeli nationals aged 19 and 20, sexually assaulted her in a room at Fedrania Gardens Hotel in Ayia Napa on September 3 this year.
All five men have been held in custody since they were arrested following the alleged attack after a pool party in the popular tourist hotspot in eastern Cyprus.
They appeared before a panel of three judges at Famagusta District Court on Monday where they smiled and winked at relatives who gathered in support, reports the Mirror.
‘We take these matters very seriously,’ a police spokesperson in Nicosia said at the beginning of the trial, which is being closely monitored by the UK Foreign Office.
The Brit woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told police she was ‘taken by force’ while partying with friends by the pool area to her room at the hotel and violently attacked.
Police investigator Andreas Nikolettis previously told the court that one man tried to remove her bathing suit while she pleaded with him to let her leave before the other suspects entered the room.
One had sex with the woman against her will and another forced her to perform oral sex while another two held her down in the bed, he claimed.
She said one suspect also held her up against the wall and had intercourse with her before she eventually managed to lock herself in the bathroom and cry for help.
The alleged victim managed to flee the room by pushing the suspects aside and running to her friends who then went with her to the police to report the rape.
The woman picked out the suspects from a police lineup the following day and is now back in the UK.
Three of the men have admitted to having sex with the woman but said it was consensual.
In October the five defendants, all from the town of Majd al-Krum near Acre in north-west Israel, denied the array of charges they face.
They include abduction, rape, sexual assault by penetration, sexual intercourse through violence, and rape by compelling sexual penetration.
Michael Pollak, who heads the UK legal aid body Justice Abroad, said the woman is vying for justice to be served.
‘She is willing to give evidence to secure justice,’ he said. ‘We are very happy the trial has started.’
Women’s rights activists previously held up a banner outside the court building in Paralimni, which read: ‘Sister we believe you.’
MORE : Paper Talk: Mary Earps wins SPOTY
MORE : UK inflation rate slows to 3.9%, lowest in more than two years