Filenews 4 July 2025 - by Despina Psyliou
The Police and the Legal Service must reconsider their views on rape. This was underlined by lawyer Lito Kariolou to Filenews, following the conviction of the Cypriot authorities and the Assistant Attorney General by the European Court of Human Rights, regarding the handling of a client's case. That is, the suspension of the criminal prosecution of a politician who was denounced by a 28-year-old woman for a rape case.
"The lack of consent is enough. The victim often freezes and does not react. Rape does not mean screams and bodily injuries," he said, pointing to the ECtHR's position that the definition of rape in this particular case was inadmissible. "The complainant suffered. She was raped by someone who in the past fell in love, something that was deemed unthinkable by the Police and the Assistant Attorney General," Ms. Kariolou pointed out.
"I am proud of the struggle of N.T. (as we call her as a pseudonym), as she managed to create in the Cypriot res judicata - the self-evident - a definition of rape based on the absence of consent.
At the same time, it points out that the ECtHR decision emphasizes that the manipulations made by the justice system of Cyprus, placed the applicant in secondary victimization, which constitutes discrimination against her. In fact, the Assistant Attorney General himself was targeted by the ECtHR.
«The ECtHR openly disapproves of the decision of the Assistant Attorney General, a decision based on the powers granted to the institution of the Attorney General by Article 113 of the Constitution and which is unreviewable. Therefore, in the context of the implementation of the decision, which is binding on the Republic of Cyprus, we expect to see an end to the uncontrollable powers of the Attorney General and Assistant Attorney General," Kariolou underlined.
From the ECtHR decision, he pointed out the following excerpt in its entirety:
"The conclusion of the Assistant Attorney General seems selective, with an attitude of incriminating the victim. It exposed the applicant to secondary victimization through guilt-inducing stereotypes, moralistic and sexist stereotypes, placing disproportionate emphasis on the expression of her feelings towards the accused, while at the same time not taking into account key elements that may indicate the absence of consent.....".
"The Court also finds it extremely problematic that the Assistant Attorney General refused access to the case file to the applicant without giving any reason. In the Court's view, this refusal limits the applicant's effective participation in the procedure and the possibility of an effective remedy, even through an internal – if not judicial – review of the decision of the Assistant Advocate General...'
The Court also stated that "The reasons for the Assistant Attorney General's decision (as the final decision in the case) were imbued with gender discrimination and sexism."
In this regard, the Court observed that GREVIO has reported the existence of "rampant prejudices and patriarchal attitudes among police officers", as well as the display of sexist and misogynistic attitudes towards women victims of sexual violence, among others, by some prosecutors who appeared to have "insufficient understanding in proving rape".
Thus, the Court "concluded" that "the shortcomings of the national authorities, in particular the methods used to assess the authenticity of the applicant's consent, not only deprived her of adequate protection, but also exposed her to secondary victimisation, which also constitutes discrimination".
