UK woman accused of making up Cyprus gang-rape claims has conviction quashed

Lawyer Michael Polak, who coordinated the appeal, is seen in the background as protesters hold up banners in support of the British woman. Photograph: Petros Karadjias/AP

A British woman found guilty of fabricating a claim that she was gang-raped in a holiday resort in Cyprus has been vindicated after the island’s supreme court overturned the conviction.

Two years after the then teenager received a suspended four-month sentence for fomenting public mischief, the court threw out the case, acknowledging she had not been given a fair trial.