British teen denies faking Cyprus gang rape accusation, trial Oct. 2

A British teenager who accused a group of Israeli youths of gang-raping her in Cyprus pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to charges of making up the accusation. The 19-year-old was arrested after police said she withdrew an accusation that 12 Israeli teenagers raped her in a hotel room in the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in mid-July.

Her lawyers have told reporters she says she withdrew her accusation under duress. A court in the town of Paralimni ordered her released on bail before the trial which is due to start on Oct. 2. She has spent a month in custody.

The charge the teenager faces, of public mischief, carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail or a fine. The Israelis, who were on holiday in Cyprus, were detained and later released without charge. They had denied any allegation of assault and have since returned to Israel.

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