Outrage over Cyprus court's acquittal of five men in gang-rape case

The decision of a court in Cyprus to acquit five men accused of abducting and raping a British woman in the resort of Ayia Napa has been met with disbelief as calls mount for the verdict to be challenged.

- Helena Smith

Dismissing the charges on Monday, the district court in Paralimni ruled the testimony of the 20-year-old had not been credible because it "lacked coherence and contained numerous substantial contradictions".

The defendants, all Israelis aged between 19 and 20, claimed sexual contact with the woman had been consensual.

The Briton's lawyer, Michael Polak, described the assertion as absurd. "The young lady in this case is gay, any suggestion that she voluntarily agreed to group sex with men she had never met before, who were speaking in a different language, is ridiculous," he told the Guardian. "She has been left completely distraught by the court's verdict today. It was one of the hardest phone calls I have ever had to make."