British woman is arrested in Cyprus over suspected fake rape claim, after accused Israeli men are released

A British woman who claimed she was raped in Cyprus has been arrested after investigators dismissed her allegations.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Jul 2019, 05:04 BST
An Israeli teenager is embraced by relatives after being released from Famagusta police headquarters in southeast town of Paralimni, Cyprus, Sunday, July 28, 2019. A lawyer says Cyprus police will release all seven Israeli teenagers who were being detained as suspects in the alleged rape of a 19-year-old British woman. Cypriot Lawyer Yiannis Habaris, who represents two of the seven Israelis, told The Associated Press on Sunday the British woman has been arrested and faces a public nuisance charge. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)An Israeli teenager is embraced by relatives after being released from Famagusta police headquarters in southeast town of Paralimni, Cyprus, Sunday, July 28, 2019. A lawyer says Cyprus police will release all seven Israeli teenagers who were being detained as suspects in the alleged rape of a 19-year-old British woman. Cypriot Lawyer Yiannis Habaris, who represents two of the seven Israelis, told The Associated Press on Sunday the British woman has been arrested and faces a public nuisance charge. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)
An Israeli teenager is embraced by relatives after being released from Famagusta police headquarters in southeast town of Paralimni, Cyprus, Sunday, July 28, 2019. A lawyer says Cyprus police will release all seven Israeli teenagers who were being detained as suspects in the alleged rape of a 19-year-old British woman. Cypriot Lawyer Yiannis Habaris, who represents two of the seven Israelis, told The Associated Press on Sunday the British woman has been arrested and faces a public nuisance charge. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Seven Israeli teenagers who were being detained as suspects over the alleged incident at a hotel in the party resort of Ayia Napa will now be released, a Cypriot lawyer said.

Yiannis Habaris, who represents two of the seven Israelis, told the Associated Press yesterday that the 19-year-old British woman has been arrested and faces a public nuisance charge.

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He said investigators questioning the teenager had concluded that her allegations “didn’t stand to reason”.

Mr Habaris said police had earlier provided DNA samples to Israeli authorities to locate three individuals who may have been implicated in the case, but, with the case collapsing, that assistance is no longer necessary.

Cypriot authorities initially arrested 12 Israelis on July 18 following the rape allegation. Five of them were released on Thursday.