Paralimni, Cyprus: A court in Cyprus on Thursday adjourned the trial of five Israeli tourists accused of gang-raping a young British woman after the defense argued they had not received all the available evidence.
The five men, aged 19 to 20 and from the Arab-Israeli town of Majd Al-Krum, appeared before Famagusta Criminal Court to face charges of rape, sexual coercion and abduction.
They had been held in custody since September 4 over the alleged assault of a 20-year-old tourist in the popular party resort of Ayia Napa.
Parents and siblings of the accused packed the small court room, anxiously mouthing words of reassurance to the stone-faced men who sported black and white T-shirts and close-cropped hair.
The defense has “not received the DNA report, the fingerprint report, photographs of the scene,” said attorney Maria Neophytou, who represents three of the defendants.
Nor had they been given the witness statement of a sixth person who was arrested and subsequently released without charge, she said.
Without them “there will be no fair trial,” Neophytou told AFP before the hearing, adding “I need the evidence” to prepare the defense.
The prosecution said on Thursday that the defense would receive the evidence within 48 hours.
The defendants were allowed to embrace their relatives after the court was adjourned, with one man bursting into tears in his mother’s arms.
The alleged victim did not attend and has returned to the United Kingdom.
The trial is scheduled to resume on October 16, when the men are set to enter their pleas.
Attorney Paris Louzou, representing the two other defendants, said they would not comment on whether the accused admitted to having any sexual contact with the victim.
Israeli media reported at the time of the arrests that the woman told police she was forcibly taken from a swimming pool to a hotel room, where she was raped.
Elleni Evagorou, an activist with the Pancyprian Federation of Women’s Organizations, attended the trial to show support for the alleged victim.
“It’s not the first time that in Cyprus we’re having this kind of trial,” she said. “It is a common problem in Cyprus, the sexual harassment of women, so we are here to stand against it,” she said.
A similar case four years ago in Ayia Napa caused uproar after the alleged victim was herself convicted of causing public mischief.
On that occasion, 12 Israelis were arrested after a British teenage girl reported that she had been attacked.
The Israelis were released after she retracted her statement, although she claimed that the police had pressured her into doing so.
The 19-year-old girl was given a four-month suspended jail term, but her conviction was quashed in 2022 by the Supreme Court.
Police later said they would examine whether mistakes had been made in the investigation.
Cyprus gang-rape trial of Israeli youths adjourned
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Cyprus gang-rape trial of Israeli youths adjourned
- The five men, aged 19 to 20 and from the Arab-Israeli town of Majd Al-Krum, appeared before Famagusta Criminal Court to face charges of rape, sexual coercion and abduction
- Parents and siblings of the accused packed the small court room
Israel orders Gaza families to move in first forced evacuation since ceasefire
- Residents of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, said the leaflets were dropped on Monday on families living in tent encampments in the Al-Reqeb neighborhood
CAIRO: Israeli forces have ordered dozens of Palestinian families in the southern Gaza Strip to leave their homes in the first forced evacuation since October’s ceasefire, as residents and Hamas said on Tuesday the military was expanding the area under its control.
Residents of Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, said the leaflets were dropped on Monday on families living in tent encampments in the Al-Reqeb neighborhood.
“Urgent message. The area is under IDF control. You must evacuate immediately,” said the leaflets, written in Arabic, Hebrew, and English, which the army dropped over the Al-Reqeb neighborhood in the town of Bani Suhaila.
In the two-year war before the US brokered ceasefire was signed in October, Israel dropped leaflets over areas that were subsequently raided or bombarded, forcing some families to move several times.
Residents and a source from the Hamas militant group said this was the first time they had been dropped since then. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
SIDES FAR APART ON NEXT PHASES
The ceasefire has not progressed beyond its first phase, under which major fighting has stopped, Israel withdrew from less than half of Gaza, and Hamas released hostages in return for Palestinian detainees and prisoners.
Virtually the entire population of more than 2 million people are confined to around a third of Gaza’s territory, mostly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings, where life has resumed under control of an administration led by Hamas.
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of major breaches of the ceasefire and remain far apart on the more difficult steps planned for the next phase.
Mahmoud, a resident from the Bani Suhaila area, who asked not to give his family name, said the evacuation orders impacted at least 70 families, living in tents and homes, some of which were partially damaged, in the area.
“We have fled the area and relocated westward. It is maybe the fourth or fifth time the occupation expanded the yellow line since last month,” he told Reuters by phone from Khan Younis, referring to the line behind which Israel has withdrawn.
“Each time they move it around 120 to 150 meters (yards) inside the Palestinian-controlled territory, swallowing more land,” the father-of-three said.
HAMAS CITES STATE OF HUMANITARIAN DISRUPTION
Ismail Al-Thawabta, director of the Hamas-run Gaza government media office, said the Israeli military had expanded the area under its control in eastern Khan Younis five times since the ceasefire, forcing the displacement of at least 9,000 people.
“On Monday, 19 January 2026, the Israeli occupation forces dropped warning leaflets demanding the forced evacuation of the Bani Suhaila area in eastern Khan Younis Governorate, in a measure that falls within a policy of intimidation and pressure on civilians,” Thawabta told Reuters.
He said the new evacuation orders affected approximately 3,000 people.
“The move created a state of humanitarian disruption, increased pressure on the already limited shelter areas, and further deepened the internal displacement crisis in the governorate,” Thawabta added.
Israel’s military has previously said it has opened fire after identifying what it called “terrorists” crossing the yellow line and approaching its troops, posing an immediate threat to them.
It has continued to conduct air strikes and targeted operations across Gaza. The Israeli military has said it views “with utmost severity” any attempts by militant groups in Gaza to attack Israel.
Under future phases of the ceasefire that have yet to be hammered out, US President Donald Trump’s plan envisages Hamas disarming, Israel pulling out further, and an internationally backed administration rebuilding Gaza.
More than 460 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers have been reported killed since the ceasefire took effect.
Israel launched its operations in Gaza in the wake of an attack by Hamas-led fighters in October 2023 which killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s assault has killed 71,000 people, according to health authorities in the enclave.
