A YOUNG WOMAN found guilty by a Cypriot court of lying about being gang-raped has appealed to the British government to “please bring me home.”

The 19-year-old – who cannot be named for legal reasons – alleged that she was raped by up to 12 Israeli men in a hotel room in the tourist resort of Ayia Napa in July.  

She is due to be sentenced next Tuesday and faces up to a year in prison for “public mischief.”

The teenager accused Cypriot police of forcing her to sign a retraction statement, leading to her conviction.

“Every second of this ordeal has been a waking nightmare,” she said.

“All I want to do is clear my name and come home to my family.

“I would say to both the Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister, both of whom are fathers, please support me with your actions, not just with your words.”

Her family said they had not had any contact from Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab or other government ministers.

The teenager’s appeal comes after her mother said that her daughter has been experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder and hallucinations while in detention.

When contacted for comment, No 10 Downing Street reissued the Foreign Office statement from the day of her conviction, saying it was “seriously concerned” about the fair trial guarantees in the case and “we will be raising the issue with Cypriot authorities.”

Linguist Dr Andrea Nini, who analysed the retraction statement supposedly given by the teenager, said it had probably been written by a local police officer.

The confession included phrases such as “doing sexual intercourse.”

Dr Nini said: “Doing sexual intercourse is not something a native English speaker would say. They would say ‘having sexual intercourse’.”