A British woman has been found guilty by a Cyprus court of fabricating claims that she was raped by 12 Israeli men.

The Briton was found guilty of "public mischief" and she is expected to be sentenced on 7 January 2020. The conviction carries a fine, a jail term of up to one year, or both.

Judge Michalis Papathanasiou said the defendant didn't tell the truth and tried to deceive the court with "convenient" and "evasive" statements.

The lawyer representing the woman said on Monday that her client disagrees with the ruling.

"We believe that there have been many violations in the procedure and the rights of fair trial of our client have been violated," Nicoletta Charalambidou said outside the court in the town of Paralimni.

"We are planning to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, hoping that our client will find justice in Cyprus," she added. 

Charalambidou highlighted that the defense team was prevented from bringing forward evidence of the alleged rape, because "the stance of the court was that 'I'm not trying a rape case, I'm trying in public mischief case.'"

"If necessary, the case will be taken to the European Human Rights Court on the grounds that a fair trial has been denied," Charalambidou added.

Argentoulla Ioannou, a lawyer representing a network that fights violence against women, criticized the process by which "instead of being the complainant," the woman who alleges being raped "has been converted into an accused person."

The court ruled that the woman, aged 19 at the time, had lied about being sexually abused by 12 Israeli teenagers. The Israelis were released without charge 10 days after being arrested, on the day the woman retracted her accusation.

The individuals she had accused were not summoned to court because prosecutors considered the case one of public mischief, not rape.

In testimony in open court, the defendant said she had been in a hotel room with one of the Israeli youths, with whom she had a relationship, before others appeared and she was pinned down.

One defense witness, Marios Matsakis, a forensic pathologist who formerly worked for the state, said the woman's injuries were consistent with rape. Prosecutors said she had fabricated the allegation, angry at being filmed during sex. 

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested after police said she had withdrawn an accusation that the teenagers had raped her in a hotel room at the holiday resort of Ayia Napa in July.

The woman maintained she had withdrawn her accusation under duress from police during persistent questioning without a lawyer present. Prosecutors and the court dismissed that claim.

"My conclusion is that the guilt of the accused has been proven beyond reasonable doubt," the presiding judge said in his verdict, describing her claims as inconsistent and adding that she had attempted to mislead the court.

Her lawyers urged the court to exercise leniency in sentencing, including the possibility of suspending any jail term.