Latest news with #MichaelPolak
Al Jazeera
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
UK court temporarily blocks deal to hand Chagos Islands to Mauritius
A British High Court judge has temporarily blocked the government from transferring sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The last-minute injunction on Thursday morning came hours before the agreement was expected to be signed at a virtual ceremony with representatives from the Mauritian government. The High Court decision was granted after action was taken by Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, two British nationals who were born at the Diego Garcia military base on Chagos and claimed that the islands should remain under British control. High Court judge Julian Goose temporarily blocked the British government from taking any 'conclusive or legally binding step to conclude its negotiations concerning the possible transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory, also known as the Chagos Archipelago, to a foreign government'. 'The defendant is to maintain the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom over the British Indian Ocean Territory until further order,' he said. Another court hearing is set for 10.30am (09:30 GMT). Earlier this year, the lawyer for the two nationals, Michael Polak, said on his chambers website that the government's attempt to 'give away' the islands without formal consultation with its residents is a 'continuation of their terrible treatment by the authorities in the past'. 'They remain the people with the closest connection to the islands, but their needs and wishes are being ignored,' Polak said. The UK, which has controlled the region since 1814, separated the Chagos Islands in 1965 from Mauritius to create the British Indian Ocean Territory. In the early 1970s, the government evicted about 1,500 residents to Mauritius and Seychelles to make way for the Diego Garcia airbase on the largest island. In October, the government announced a draft agreement to hand the islands to Mauritius and allow Britain and the United States to continue using the Diego Garcia base under a 99-year lease. US President Donald Trump's administration, which was consulted on the deal, gave its approval. However, finalising the agreement was delayed by a change in government in Mauritius and reported last-minute negotiations over costs.
The Independent
02-04-2025
- The Independent
Briton `distraught' after Cyprus court acquits five men accused of raping her
A British tourist is 'really shocked, sad and distraught' after charges against the five Israeli men she accused of gang-raping her in a hotel were dropped by a court in Cyprus, her lawyer has said. On Monday, a three-member Assize court, sitting as a district court in Paralimni, ruled the testimony of the 20-year-old had not been credible as it 'lacked coherence and contained numerous substantial contradictions', The Guardian reported. Police said she had picked the men out of a line-up as having raped her during a hotel pool party in the coastal resort town of Ayia Napa on September 3 2023. The defendants, who were then aged 19 and 20, had pleaded not guilty to all the charges. The woman is 'really sad and really upset' about the acquittals which saw all of the men walk free from court, according to her lawyer Michael Polak. He said: 'She is openly gay, not interested in men at all and the defence was that she consented to group sex with these Arab Israeli men who do not speak English. 'So she is really shocked by the verdict.' The woman, who cannot be legally identified, was 'highly distressed' as she told police that she was 'taken by force' during a party and was then sexually assaulted in a hotel room, it was reported. Mr Polak, who is director of the Justice Abroad organisation, added he is 'not surprised' by the ruling. It comes after the European Court of Human Rights ruling earlier this year that Cyprus' law enforcement authorities failed to live up to their obligation to thoroughly and effectively investigate a British teenager's claims. Mr Polak has written to the Attorney General in Cyprus to appeal against the verdict in this week's case. He said: 'We think one of the higher courts should look at it and look at it properly,' before adding: 'We'll see what happens but we don't have great hope.' Mr Polak said it is 'very difficult to assess' the criticisms that have been made about the 20-year-old's testimony, saying he has yet to see the full judgment. He added: 'But I do know that she has no interest in men or entering into a group sex act people she did not know or speak the same language – none of that has been mentioned.'
The Guardian
01-04-2025
- The Guardian
Cyprus court acquits five Israeli men accused of raping British woman
A Cyprus court's acquittal of five men accused of abducting and raping a British woman in the resort of Ayia Napa has been met with outrage as calls mount for the verdict to be challenged. Dismissing the charges on Monday, the three-member district court in Paralimni ruled the testimony of the 20-year-old had not been credible because it 'lacked coherence and contained numerous substantial contradictions'. The defendants, Israelis aged between 19 and 20, claimed sexual contact with the woman had been consensual. But her lawyer, Michael Polak, described the assertion as absurd. 'The young lady in this case is gay, any suggestion that she voluntarily agreed to group sex with men she had never met before, who were speaking in a different language, is ridiculous,' he told the Guardian. 'She has been left completely distraught by the court's verdict today. It was one of the hardest phone calls I have ever had to make.' All five accused had been remanded in custody since the alleged incident on 3 September 2023. On Monday, they were allowed to walk free with lawyer Nir Yaslovitzh, who represented some of the men, telling Israel's Channel 12: 'It is a brave decision that completely rejected the complainant's version and completely accepts our clients' version.' Polak, who directs the London-based legal aid group Justice Abroad, said the case was further proof of a sexist attitude in Cyprus's 'patriarchal' justice system. 'Recently, the European court of human rights ruled that there is no effective protection for women subject to sexual offences in the Republic of Cyprus,' he added. 'Unfortunately, nothing I have seen shows that there have been any improvements in this area.' He did not rule out the case being taken to the European court of human rights. In February, another British woman who also claimed she had been gang-raped in Ayia Napa by more than a dozen Israeli men in July 2019 won a 'monumental victory' over Cypriot authorities after the Strasbourg-based tribunal ruled they had 'failed in their obligation to effectively investigate the applicant's complaint of rape'. Judge Michalis Papathanasiou, sitting in Paralimni on Monday, had been the judge on the district court who had overseen the earlier case. Last year, the island's supreme court not only overturned his decision but, in an unusual rebuke, criticised the way he had conducted proceedings, agreeing with the defendant's lawyers that the trial process had been 'manifestly unfair' and his 'interruptions and interventions unjustified and inadmissible'. The Briton, who cannot be legally identified, had been described as 'highly distressed' when, giving testimony to police, she recounted how she had been 'taken by force' during a party around the pool area of her hotel to her room and sexually assaulted. Women's groups and campaigners voiced outrage as they reacted to the ruling, with some raising the prospect of the close diplomatic ties between Cyprus and Israel influencing Monday's judgment. 'What this shows is that Cypriot courts haven't reflected at all on their past mistakes,' said Susana Pavlou, who heads the Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies in Nicosia, the island's capital. 'We are shocked and appalled.' Pavlou said she had been particularly angered by the court's argument that, although the woman had taken class A drugs and consumed a 'significant amount' of alcohol, neither were enough to remove 'her ability to consent'. 'That was particularly shocking,' she said. 'It is clear, more than ever, that judicial authorities in Cyprus continue to be influenced by stereotypical attitudes and beliefs in relation to victims of sexual violence and rape.' Research, she said, had shown that victims of sexual violence were 'often considered unreliable witnesses' because of the lack of psychological and legal support navigating the judicial process. Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- The Guardian
Cypriot authorities ‘failed' British teenager who reported alleged gang rape, says ECHR
A British woman who alleges she was gang raped in Ayia Napa has won a 'monumental victory' over Cypriot authorities after the European court of human rights (ECHR) ruled they did not properly investigate. The woman, who was 18 and on holiday at the time, told Cypriot police she had been raped in a hotel room by several Israeli males in July 2019. Ten days later the woman was questioned again, with only two short breaks over six hours and no lawyer or welfare services present. She signed a retraction at 1.15am and was arrested for 'committing public mischief'. The Strasbourg-based court, which referred to the Briton as 'X' in its judgment, said 'the Cypriot authorities failed in their obligation to effectively investigate the applicant's complaint of rape and to adopt a victim‑sensitive approach when doing so'. It also noted the 'numerous shortcomings' in the investigation, awarding the student €20,000 in damages. 'In conclusion, the court observed that the case revealed certain biases concerning women in Cyprus which impeded the effective protection of X's rights as a possible victim of gender-based violence,' the judges said. The Briton had resorted to the continent's highest human rights body after the country's attorney general, the island's top legal authority, rejected her lawyers' request to open a new inquiry with external investigators who could consider the rape complaint 'fairly and dispassionately'. The EHCR judgment was hailed as a 'huge vindication' for the Derbyshire student. 'The result couldn't be better,' said the British barrister Michael Polak, who heads the London-based legal aid group Justice Abroad, and represents the woman. 'It's a monumental victory for our client but also for the rights of women, other victims of sexual violence, and their access to justice.' Lawyers in Cyprus who had represented the complainant said the European tribunal's decision also amounted to a triumph against a system that frequently did not take victims seriously. 'This is a big win,' said Nicoletta Charalambidou, a leading human rights lawyer in Cyprus. She observed that the credibility of victims of rape in the country was 'very often questioned by a system built on patriarchy and discrimination against women and girls'. In 2019, the woman was forced to give testimony given over several hours in the absence of a lawyer or psychologist. She described how she had been attacked by the tourists as she and her boyfriend were in the room having consensual sex. She claimed the night began to go horribly wrong when the other men, at her partner's behest, barged in, attacking her 'one by one'. The Briton's defence team argued that her decision to withdraw the complaint had been made under duress after seven hours of police questioning and despite their client's highly distressed state. 'Overnight, she was turned from being treated as a victim into a suspect,' Polak told the Guardian. The retraction allowed the alleged assailants, who were aged between 15 and 22 and included the sons of senior Israeli officials, to immediately return home. Womens' groups in both Cyprus and Israel deplored the handling of the case. Activists in both countries, who gathered outside the courts as legal proceedings unfolded, said that the Briton had not only fallen victim to a macho culture but the desire of the two eastern Mediterranean nations to maintain close diplomatic ties. Polak said Thursday's landmark ruling reinforced the fundamental principle that allegations of sexual violence should be properly investigated 'without institutional obstruction'. 'Our client has shown immense resilience in her pursuit of justice,' he said. 'We hope this outcome will empower others to speak out against such offences and demand accountability from authorities.' Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organisations. In the UK, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 500 2222 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland, or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support on 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at
Sky News
27-02-2025
- Sky News
Authorities failed to investigate original claims of British woman accused of lying about being gang-raped on holiday
Cypriot authorities failed to investigate the original claims of a British woman who was later convicted of lying about being gang-raped on holiday there, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled. The woman, who is now in her 20s, was 19 in the summer of 2019 when she claims she was raped by 12 Israeli men at a hotel in the party resort of Ayia Napa. After retracting her statement 10 days later, she was charged with "public mischief" for making the allegations. The woman, from Derbyshire, ended up spending more than a month in jail awaiting trial and was eventually given a suspended prison sentence. She appealed her case at the Cypriot Supreme Court in Nicosia got her conviction was quashed, with the judge ruling she had likely been forced into changing her statement and was not given a fair trial. But the island's attorney general refused to reopen the original case, leading her lawyers to take it to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg. On Thursday the ECHR ruled police and prosecutors in Cyprus "had fallen short of the state's duty to effectively investigate the applicant's allegations". The judgment adds that "certain biases concerning women in the effective protection of [the woman's] rights as a possible victim of gender-based violence". "The credibility of her allegations appeared to have been assessed through prejudicial gender stereotypes and victim-blaming attitudes," it reads. The court also ruled that the mishandling of the case constituted a violation of the woman's right to a private and family life and awarded her €20,000 (£16,500) in damages and €5,000 (£4,100) in costs. Michael Polak, the woman's lawyer and director of the group Justice Abroad that has been supporting her, said: "This is a landmark decision for victims of sexual violence. "The ruling reinforces the fundamental principle that allegations of sexual violence must be investigated thoroughly and fairly, without institutional obstruction." Speaking to Sky News, he added: "This will help in vindicating what she has been saying all along, but of course these offences leave lifelong scars. "So obviously we welcome the decision, but it's a pity we had to take it all the way to the European Court of Human Rights to get some form of justice." He said that there was now an "obligation" for Cypriot authorities to "do the right thing" and launch a fresh investigation into the original rape claims, which the legal team says should be carried out by a separate police force. Justice Abroad has previously argued Cypriot authorities had failed to secure the crime scene and did not use DNA evidence from a condom with her blood on it - or evidence from the suspects' phones. During her previous appeal, the Supreme Court heard a forensic linguist also concluded her retraction statement was written in "Greek English" and therefore unlikely to have been written by her - and that a pathologist was of the view her injuries were consistent with gang rape. Her lawyers also pointed out the judge had repeatedly shouted "this is not a rape trial" as she gave evidence. The case sparked concern about fair trial guarantees in Cyprus, with the Foreign Office vowing to raise the case with authorities there, and protests being held in support of the woman in Cyprus and London. All 12 of the original suspects were freed without charge and allowed to return to Israel. They denied the allegations against them. The Cypriot authorities have also denied any wrongdoing regarding to their investigation.
