A British teenager who says she was coerced into retracting an accusation she was gang-raped was given a suspended jail sentence by a Cyprus court on Tuesday.
The 19-year smiled and hugged family after the sentence was handed down by judge Michalis Papathanasiou, after a months-long trial that her lawyers say was littered with investigatory and legal mistakes and issues, including repeated refusals by the judge to consider whether the girl was raped.
The case has drawn a rare rebuke from Britain and uproar from rights groups concerned the woman did not get a fair trial. Activists were holding a protest outside the courthouse in the town of Paralimni.
