Cyprus rocked by sexual assault claims of Olympic shooter

Cyprus has been shaken by a historical sexual assault scandal after Cypriot Olympic shooter Andri Eleftheriou gave the name of her alleged aggressor to police.

Allegations of this nature are rare in Cyprus as victims are afraid to come forward. Eleftheriou, 36, was herself ignored after going public in 2018.

But the Commonwealth Games gold medallist was encouraged to speak out earlier this week by Cyprus Justice Minister Emily Yiolitis.

The Cypriot skeet champion said she was sexually assaulted by someone in authority at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Police are now investigating the matter with sporting officials called for questioning, including members of the shooting federation.

Eleftheriou spoke about her ordeal to media in the past but did not file an official complaint until Thursday after her meeting with the justice minister, who encouraged her to give police the name of her abuser.

Yiolitis congratulated the athlete for coming forward, promising that the state and she personally would support her.

“Let this give others the impetus to speak out, to break the cycle of silence and to correct everything that feeds it,” Yiolitis said in a statement.