The British woman, 19, who claimed that 12 Israeli teens gang-raped her in her hotel room at an Ayia Napa resort in Cyprus has been arrested by police, according to reports that surfaced on Sunday.
Reuters reports that the seven Israelis detained were released from custody, while the BBC reported that the woman was arrested on suspicion of making false allegations.
Defence attorney Nir Jeslovich, who represented several of the Israeli suspects in court, stated that the men went on a “vacation that became a nightmare” after police in Cyprus arrested 12 teens, aged from 15-18 years, on 18 July following the woman’s allegations. “As I have argued throughout the process, there was no rape in Cyprus,” he told Jerusalem Post.
READ MORE: Cyprus police search for three additional Israeli suspects in gang rape of British girl at Aya Napa
Greek defence lawyer Yiannis Habaris told Associated Press that the five Israeli teenagers that had already been released had found to have no connection with the case. The seven were linked to the case through witness statements though DNA evidence only linked three of the seven to the alleged victim.
Israeli TV Channel 12 reported that the girlfriend of one of the Israeli teen suspects took a selfie of him sleeping next to her at the time of the alleged incident. “My girlfriend’s selfie saved my life,” he said. “I will never come back here ever again.”
READ MORE: Israeli teenagers detained in Cyprus for gang rape of British tourist in her hotel room
A Cyprus police official told The Associated Press that the woman voluntarily recanted during questioning after midnight on Sunday, saying there had been consensual sexual contact and that she had not been raped. State-run Cyprus News Agency reported that the woman allegedly told investigators she had been “angry and insulted” after a number of the teenagers allegedly recorded the video of her having sex, causing her to go to the police.