Section:GDN 1N PaGe:20 Edition Date:190808 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 7/8/2019 20:39 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
- The Guardian Thursday 8 August 2019
(^20) National
Viña del Portillo Reserva 2015
Save over £
12 btls: £131.88 £64.68 | £5.39 per bottle
Free Delivery (usually £7.99)
Lawyer for
teenager
in Cyprus
gang-rape
case quits
Helena Smith
Athens
The lawyer for a British teenager fac-
ing trial in Cyprus on charges of falsely
claiming she was gang-raped in a hotel
has withdrawn from her case.
Andreas Pittadjis , the Greek Cypriot
attorney defending the 19-year-old,
who cannot be named for legal rea-
sons, asked to be relieved of his duties,
citing “serious disagreement” with
his client.
“I do not wish any longer to
rep resent the defendant as I disagree
with the line of defence,” he said.
The student has claimed she was
coerced by police into revoking her
criminal complaint against 12 Israe-
lis for rape. After her retraction, the
alleged assailants were released from
custody and returned home.
She wept yesterday as Pittadjis
handed her the case fi le and left the
Famagusta district court in Paralimni.
Last week, a judge accused her of
“public mischief ” – which carr ies a
punishment of up to a year in prison
- after she was arrested on suspicion
of “making a false statement about an
imaginary crime”.
Pittadjis had asked for the case to
be adjourned so he could gather evi-
dence, including a video that had gone
viral purporting to show several men
having intercourse with her.
His departure means the teenager
must remain in custody pending a plea
hearing on 19 August. She is being held
in Nicosia general prison.
A spokes woman at the British high
commission said: “We are liaising with
authorities. She needs to fi nd a law-
yer.” She confi rmed the British studentwas in a special women’s wing, receiv-
ing regular consular assistance “and
being well looked after.”
Pittadjis’s exit followed a statement
by the legal aid group Justice Abroad
claiming the teenager was coerced
into revoking the complaint, and was
refused legal representation during
questioning. A Cyprus police spokes-
man, Christos Andreou , rejected these
claims as “baseless.”
The teenager was on holiday in Ayia
Napa and said she was gang-raped
after returning to the hotel room with
one of the men.In brief
Police
Charges over rape and
murder of 89-year-oldMusic
Boardmasters festival
cancelled in CornwallCrime
Met gave £1m to police
force for Beech inquiryEntertainment
Bafta to include fi lm
and TV casting awardA 22-year-old man has been charged
with the rape and murder of an
89-year-old woman.
Reece Dempster, of no fi xed
address, appeared at Highbury
Corner magistrates court yesterday
charged with the murder of Dorothy
Woolmer at her home in Waltheof
Gardens, Tottenham, north London
on Sunday morning, a Metropolitan
police spokesman said.
Dempster is also charged withCornwall’s biggest festival, Board-
masters in Newquay, has been
cancelled due to a severe weather
forecast. About 50,000 people were
due to watch Florence and the
Machine, pictured, Foals, Wu-Tang
Clan and others, but according to
organisers , “the potential risk is too
severe for the event to go ahead at
this time”. The Met Offi ce issued
warnings on Tuesday : the festival
site was due to face the brunt of
high winds. Ben Beaumont-ThomasScotland Yard reportedly handed
over nearly £1m to another police
force to investigate Carl Beech,
jailed last week for 18 years for lying
about the existence of a murderous
paedophile ring.
Beech had falsely claimed he
was abused in the 1970s and 80s
by politicians, army top brass and
security chiefs. The Metropolitan
police launched a £2m investigation ,
which collapsed after 16 months
with no arrest s.
Northumbria police launched
a subsequent investigation to
determine whether Beech had
perverted the course of justice,
which cost the force £1,109,068, but
the Met reimbursed £951,982 of the
bill, the Times reported.
In a statement issued on Tuesday,
the Met said it had been found to
have acted lawfully. Jamie GriersonThe Bafta awards have introduced
a new category : next year the
organisation will give awards
for casting in its fi lm and TV
ceremonies. The Bafta chair, Pippa
Harris, said in a statement: “We are
delighted this year to be including
the highly skilled work of casting
directors for the fi rst time. Casting
is essential to the screen industries,
and vital in terms of promoting
diversity and inclusion on screen.”
A protest at the inclusion of
Netfl ix releases in the 2019 fi lm
awards has been batted aside, as
Bafta announced that “following
extensive consultation across
the industry”, it would retain its
eligibility requirements.
The awards will take place on
2 February next year, a week before
the Oscars on 9 February.
Andrew Pulverrape, sexual assault by penetration
and burglary as part of the same
incident, and was remanded in
custody to appear before the Old
Bailey on Friday.
Woolmer was pronounced dead
at the scene.
Police have asked for anyone
with information in relation to the
incident to contact them.
A statement from Woolmer’s
family said: “She was a wonderful,
beautiful woman, who was full
of life. She was extremely self-
suffi cient and would still cook all of
her meals herself and get herself up
and down her stairs.
“She was a sister, wife, aunt and
dear friend to many and will be
greatly missed. “
The family asked for privacy
while they came to terms with what
had happened. PA MediaРЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS