Posted by 13 hours ago
BBC News NIAppeal ‘retraumatised me’, says Nikita Hand
Conor McGregor has lost his civil jury appeal against a finding that he sexually assaulted a woman.
In November, McGregor was ordered to pay £206,000 in damages plus costs to Nikita Hand, who accused him of raping her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018.
McGregor appealed on the grounds that his lawyers believed his answers to police during interviews should not have been put before the jury.
His barrister also argued that a question on the “issue paper” given to the jury to help them decide their verdict should have been worded differently.
Three senior judges at the Court of Appeal in Dublin dismissed the appeal on all grounds.
Conor McGregor was not in court for the ruling.
Nikita Hand attended the hearing with several supporters.
In relation to the police interviews, the court found McGregor’s lawyers had not proved there was “a real risk of unfair trial”.
During the original case, the jury heard that McGregor said “no comment” around 100 times when he was interviewed by police.
The issue paper asked the jurors if Conor McGregor had assaulted Ms Hand.
McGregor’s lawyers argued it should have specified “sexual assault” rather than “assault”.
But the appeal judges said that it was “simply unreal” to suggest that any member of the jury could have become confused about meaning of the question.
They gave a unanimous ruling that McGregor’s appeal should be dismissed “in its entirety”.
McGregor’s friend, James Lawrence, also lost his appeal against the decision that he should pay costs, even though the jury found he did not assault Nikita Hand.
Ms Hand had claimed in her action that Conor McGregor and James Lawrence both raped her.
The men said they both had consensual sex with her.
‘Retraumatised me over and over’
Speaking outside court, Ms Hand said she was grateful for the support she has received throughout the civil action.
“This appeal has retraumatised me over and over again, being forced to relive it, what happened has had a huge impact on me,” she said.
Ms Hand added: “To every survivor out there, I know how hard it is, but please, don’t be silenced.
“You deserve to be heard, you also deserve justice. Today, I can finally move on and try to heal.”
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