Crete 2022

In June 2022 my daughter Olivia*, who had just turned 18, went to Rethymno in Crete to celebrate finishing her A levels with two friends. At the end of a night out, she was dragged away from a sunbed on the beach by two complete strangers, who took it in turns to rape her. 

They were thankfully caught a few hours later by the Greek authorities.

The Trial

A year later and at great expense to ourselves, we attended the harrowing court case in Crete. In court my daughter bravely gave evidence against her rapists, despite having to stand metres away from them throughout the duration of trial.

We had to return home before the end of the trial due to a lack of funds, so were unable to be there for the verdict. However, justice was achieved, and her perpetrators were both found guilty and convicted. They each received a life sentence for the brutal attack against my daughter.

We presumed we could then, as a family, move on and start to heal. 

The Appeal

However, under Greek law a perpetrator only has to file for an appeal within a certain timeframe, in order to have an automatic right to a full retrial with new examination of witnesses and the evidence.

The perpetrators have exercised their automatic right to appeal in my daughter’s case and she now faces going through the entire process again in March 2025 with the obvious re-traumatisation this will cause

If Olivia does not attend, she may be penalised by the court and, most worryingly, without attending to give evidence against her rapists they could be successful in their appeal and both be released.

We therefore now find ourselves in an incredibly upsetting and difficult situation we have no choice other than to return to maintain the justice that we thought we had already achieved, and to avoid my daughter becoming potentially criminalised herself alongside the release of a dangerous offender.

Whilst legal aid is available to victims under Greek law, in practice it presents challenges due to bureaucratic requirements, particularly for those who are not from Greece. The quality of the representation is also limited, with victims often only meeting their lawyer on the day of trial.

As with much of the UK, we have been suffering with the cost-of-living crisis, have no savings, and are still paying off our previous debt from the first court case. We therefore cannot do this without reaching out for public support to pay for a trusted Greek lawyer who can properly prepare Olivia’s case and fully represent her in court to ensure her rights are upheld and justice is served.

We need your help

We have set our initial target at £3,000 but need to raise as much as possible by the end of January 2025. We are therefore hoping to achieve more than £5,000. This will allow us to instruct the best legal team for Olivia’s case and ensure quality representation and support so that justice is upheld, and we can finally move forward with our lives.

Shaw Graham Kersh LLP are assisting with finding and instructing a suitable lawyer in Greece and Centre for Women's Justice (CWJ) are supporting our campaign. 

Any funds remaining after the trial will be donated to CWJ to continue their vital work supporting survivors of male violence. Gift aid on donations will also go to the charity. 

Thank you for reading about my daughter’s story.

Hannah* (mum)

Please see below links to some of the media reporting of the case at the time:

• Two men sentenced to life imprisonment for gang-raping British girl in Greece - anews
• Two men given life over 2022 rape of British teenager on Crete | eKathimerini.com
• Two Pakistani men are jailed for life in Greece for gang-raping a British 18-year-old on her sunbed | Daily Mail Online
• Two Pakistani men get life in prison for rape of British tourist - ProtoThema English

*Names have been changed to protect anonymity.