Campaign to boycott Cyprus over Napa rape ruling

A campaign to boycott Cyprus has swept Twitter amid fury over a British woman’s conviction for ‘lying’ that she was gang-raped by 12  Israeli men, the Daily Mail reported on Monday.

A #BoycottCyprus hashtag erupted on social media following the ruling and a petition to drop all charges against the teenager has soared to over 1,200 signatures the paper said.

Steve Brookstein, the first ever winner of the X Factor, tweeted: ‘Women. If you #believe her then don’t go to Cyprus. #boycottcyprus.’

Meanwhile Jenniffer Toon wrote: ‘NEVER EVER EVER taking my daughters to Cyprus – we all see the true colours of your system now – it’s unsafe for women – shame on you.’

Steve Brookstein, the first ever winner of the X Factor, tweeted: ‘Women. If you #believeher then don’t go to Cyprus. #boycottcyprus’

Femi Oluwole, a political activist and was co-founder of the pro-European Union advocacy group, Our Future Our Choice, tweeted his disgust at the ruling. ‘There is only one thing you need to know. Her retraction came after 7 hours of police interrogation without a lawyer present. Huge violation of both police procedure and human rights.’

The paper quoted another Twitter user who said they had been sickened by the judge’s decision in Cyprus

Sophie Pettifer, who describes herself as an intersectional feminist and believer in equality, said that the ruling was ‘dripping in misogyny’

‘The actual details of this story are horrific, dripping in misogyny and a patriarchal judicial system that believes men above their victims,” she tweeted.

“Solidarity with this poor woman who withdraw her accusation after NINE hours of questioning without a lawyer present #IBelieveHer.”

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.