By Bond Robertson 
Kos (Dagbladet): Two men occupied a courtroom on the Greek island of Kos on Monday for allegedly raping Norwegian “Ida” during a vacation trip. The incident reported by the Norwegian woman to the Norwegian police when she returned home is said to have occurred during a girl’s trip to the tourist magnet of Rhodes in July 2017.
The two men, for their part, deny the criminal charge. Both deny that they committed rape, and that they met a Norwegian woman in her thirties.
– My clients are innocent. The court will see that the woman who claims that she was raped by them, is a liar. I can assure you that we will resolve this matter in court, because my clients are the victims in this case, the men’s advocate, attorney Stelios Alexandris, told Dagbladet before the weekend.
Defender: The accused is on his way to the courtroom in Kos. Pictures by Nina Hansen / Dagbladet
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– innocent
One of the accused, who was dressed in a black suit, sat on the bench on Monday. He explained during the interrogation that he had never met “Ida” before.
On the way to the courtroom, the accused did not want to comment on the charges or the Norwegian woman’s version of the case before trial.
– But I can assure you that innocent men do not end up in prison, says the man accused of rape.
– I feel terrified
Dagbladet interviewed a Norwegian woman in her thirties regarding the incident that is said to have occurred in Rhodes in 2017. In the interview, she told in detail how she met the accused in a nightclub in Rhodes.
According to her, the evening must have ended with a gross rape.
– When I first woke up, the rape was in progress. I was naked. I remember hitting, spitting, and choking. I felt like the only thing that was there was my body. I said no over and over. I tried to resist, but they were too strong. I didn’t have a chance. She said in the interview, fearing he would hurt me even more, I finally gave in.
Hope: Ida hopes she can help other women who have been raped by telling their story. Photo: private
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Ida herself hopes that a final verdict for legal action will now be passed, four years after the night that changed her life forever.
– It would be awful to appear in court. I feel terrified. But if this can help make a difference, it is well worth it. I am one of the few who has had the opportunity to appear at a trial and speak about that night in my own words. She told Dagbladet before the trial that many of the abused girls don’t even get that chance.
In 2019, she received compensation for victims of violence, although there is no ruling in Greece.