The five Israeli nationals accused of gang raping a British tourist in Ayia Napa had their remand renewed on Tuesday.
The group, of which two are aged 20 and three are aged 19, will now remain in custody for another six days.
They had been initially arrested on September 4 with the crime allegedly having taken place the previous day.
Two of the five suspects did not appear in court on Tuesday after having tested positive for Covid-19. They were represented in court by their lawyers.
The 20-year-old Briton was reported to have had “bruises and abrasions” consistent with an attack.
An exclusive report by British newspaper the Daily Mail claimed there were “grip marks” on her body, and said the victim was “forcefully dragged” to a room at the hotel.
Police are expected to examine CCTV footage from the hotel, while “genetic material” from the bedsheets and clothing will also be studied by forensic teams.
The case is reminiscent of that involving a now 22-year-old British woman who was cleared after being initially found guilty of fabricating a gang rape committed by Israeli tourists back in 2019, who has given her backing to the latest victim.
Speaking to British media, the woman and her family said “we send our heartfelt support to the young woman at the centre of these reports.
“We hope that the Cypriot authorities don’t add the insult to injury of victim-blaming that lead (sic) to pre-trial imprisonment and the wrongful prosecution that was successfully appealed at great emotional and financial cost”.
However, the father of one of the accused has accused the alleged victim of making the attack up for an “insurance scam” in an interview with Israeli media.
“This is the same case like in 2019 when the British tourist made up a story about a group of Israelis. There is no rape here, they didn’t drag her out of the pool and there was nothing,” he said.
He added, “at the police station, I met detainees from all over Europe who are alleged to have committed criminal acts against British people. I would be happy if we saw an intervention from the Israeli embassy [IN CYPRUS]”.
The Famagusta police are continuing their investigation.
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