London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, May 31, 2026

The women rallying for British teenager

"We believe you", "we are on your side", "you are a victim of a flawed system".

These were just a few of many banners, placards and posters waved by a crowd of women's rights activists, who stood and chanted messages of solidarity for a British teenager in Paralimni, Cyprus.

The 19-year-old, who was found guilty of lying about being raped in Ayia Napa by a group of young Israelis, hid her face with a scarf and was visibly shaking as she stood for a moment in front of the group, before entering court.

By her side was her mother, along with a British documentary maker, who has accompanied the family at each of the court hearings.

There has been international criticism regarding the fairness of the trial, and the controversial case has united women's rights groups and activists from both Cyprus and Israel.

Noa Borstein, a journalist and activist from Israel, tells me that she travelled "with 60 women on two planes and two buses from Tel Aviv" to be here.

"There is something fishy here", she says. "This story is too familiar for any one of us. We hear it a lot and know what it's like to be seen to be 'unbelievable' with our stories."

I asked her about news coverage of the case in Israel - and the 12 Israeli youths who were released without charge.

"For me, when we watch the mainstream media, we hear a patriarchal narrative, not believing women.

"Israeli papers blame the girls. And there's a big society debate - even in my own family - you can see the men standing beside the boys, but the women think that there's more here than they say it is, it's not a lie."


Government 'not used to questions'

The criticism from some Cypriot protesters here is not just the alleged flaws in this case, but of the island's entire judicial system.

Among the activists is Zelia Gregoriou, an associate professor in gender studies at the university of Cyprus.

"People shouldn't trust the government. Governments should always be in question and the government in Cyprus isn't used to that.

"They are not used to being questioned because they adopt a very patriarchal, pastoral approach to politics - 'we know best, we do it for you, don't bother us, don't question us'.

"I think this is the moment for the country, we've come together to recover the meaning of citizenship."

Argentoula Ioannou is amongst the most vocal of protesters, shouting "I am with you" and "we believe you". She's part of the newly-formed Network Against Violence Against Women, that helped organise the protests.

She says: "The verdict is a result of the whole system of deficiencies and bad handling by police, who led in the conviction. They haven't protected, they haven't believed, and they let the Israelis leave the country without doing their job properly."

Police officials have denied claims that they acted improperly in this case, as well as claims made by the teenager's family that they "bullied" her into recanting her statement.

There were also supportive voices in the crowd for the police and judiciary.

Skevi Koukouma, a Cypriot MP for the nearby town of Famagusta, says she turned up to defend her country's legal system, which she said was facing "huge reputational damage, based on the perception of this case abroad".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×