Women’s rights organisations will stage a protest outside the Law Office in Nicosia on Tuesday following a European Court of Human Rights ruling that condemned the Republic of Cyprus for failing to properly investigate rape allegations against a DISY politician.
The demonstration, scheduled for 6pm on 8 July, responds to the court’s decision delivered on 3 July regarding a case where a woman reported rape in 2021. The ECHR found Cyprus violated articles 3, 8, and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and ordered the state to pay €35,470 in damages and legal costs.
Seventeen organisations signed a joint statement describing the ruling as “repeated confirmation of serious and structural pathologies of a sexist, inadequate and hostile towards victims justice system.”
The case involved a 28-year-old woman who reported in April 2021 that she had been raped in January 2011. Deputy Attorney-General Savvas Angelides halted prosecution in December 2021, citing doubts about the woman’s credibility.
The ECHR concluded that authorities failed to conduct proper investigation and contributed to the victim’s secondary victimisation. The court found the decision was based on subjective views of the woman’s psychological state rather than evidence assessment.
“The condemnation of the Republic of Cyprus by the European Court of Human Rights for the failure to investigate a rape complaint is not an isolated incident. It is repetition,” the women’s groups stated.
The organisations specifically criticised Angelides, stating his handling “raises serious questions of deliberate intent and political cover-up.” Angelides served as Defence Minister in the DISY-led government before assuming duties as Deputy Attorney General.
The protest demands include “institutional accountability and purification” of the justice system, training for officials, respect for victims’ rights, and “alignment of the definition of consent in legislation based on the provisions of the Istanbul Convention.”
The statement references a previous ECHR case involving a British teenager in Ayia Napa in 2019, describing both rulings as evidence of systematic failures by investigative and judicial authorities.
Cyprus’s Commissioner for Gender Equality acknowledged the rulings indicate “gender stereotypes and prejudices continue to influence the administration of justice in Cyprus.”
The deputy attorney-general said it would study the ruling and revise procedures.
The seventeen organisations backing the protest include Women’s Movement POGO, Women Workers’ Office PEO, Socialist Women’s Movement, Women’s Movement of Ecologists, Women Farmers’ Section EKA, YPATIA Foundation for Equality Promotion, Cyprus Women’s Lobby, Mediterranean Institute for Gender Studies, Pan-Cyprian Association of Single-Parent Families and Friends, EDON, Far Right Watch, Left Wing, AFOA, Workers’ Democracy, KISA – Movement for Equality Support Anti-racism, and Alliance Against the Far Right Fascism and Racism.
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