Nobody has been able to dispute that she was a teenage girl in a room with several young men and a lot of them had sex with her. Even if she had invited it (which I highly doubt), it still would have been an act practically tantamount to self-harm. No decent boy would have joined in. Where was the respect? Even if she was begging them, they should have refused.
But they filmed it.
The issue here is a massive cultural one. The underlying Greek attitude towards British teenage girls off on drinking holidays in the sun. There is no way on Planet Earth that a Greek daughter would be allowed to do this. She would be brought up to abhor such behaviour. So when they see other girls do it - in the extreme way that many British teenage girls do - the drinking, the drug use and the simple fact that these girls have been allowed by their parents to go on such a holiday - all respect is lost.
It is dreadfully sad and absolutely traumatic even as a total stranger to hear about what has happened to this poor girl. She is such a baby, and this is beyond awful. The treatment of her has been truly appalling. She is damaged for life. But money is underneath it all. Israel is 20 odd miles from Cyprus. It's a massive source of tourists. Cyprus can't lose the Israeli business. And the Brits will always come. The kids will defy their parents and still flock to the Mecca of decadence that is Aghia Napa. So Cyprus had to appease the Israelis, and it wasn't a hard decision, as everyone has such a low opinion of British teens abroad, and the British parents that fund then and let them go.
I just hope this poor girl can now be restored, can be helped back in our kind and decent country. I love the fact that Britain is such a warm and understanding place. We should actually be proud of the fact that we would never ever ever have treated a foreign teenage girl in this way. I just don't believe we would have.
Thankfully Cyprus saw sense and has released her. But the charge of lying should never have been brought. It was a disgrace.