MILAN, Italy: The lawyer for a 20-year-old British model at the center of an alleged kidnapping in Italy has denied suggestions that the case was a hoax, after local media raised doubts about her story.
Italian police said on Saturday they had arrested the alleged kidnapper who confessed to being involved in a plot to auction the model online unless a $300,000 ransom was paid.
But people in the Italian village where Chloe Ayling said she was held captive told local media that she and the man went out together.
Some residents told state broadcaster Rai that the couple went to a bar and that she also went shoe shopping with Lukasz Pawel Herba, 30, a British resident born in Poland, before he released her to the British consulate in Milan.
“The implication that she was involved (in the plot) — as I read with disgust in some newspapers this morning — is just unimaginable,” Milan-based lawyer Francesco Pesce told Reuters.
Ayling told police she had been lured to Milan last month for a photo shoot, according to police documents reviewed by Reuters. She said that on arrival at the studio she was drugged, gagged, bound, stuffed into a bag, put into the boot of a car and driven to a village in northwest Italy where she was held for six days.
Four or five men were involved in the kidnapping, according to her account. Herba told police he freed her and handed her to the consulate after the group became aware she had a young child, according to documents outlining his testimony.
Milan police, who are still investigating the case, declined to comment on Tuesday.
Pesce said the kidnappers had removed Ayling’s restraints in the village but threatened to kill her if she tried to run away or tell anyone she was being held there against her will.
“A 20-year-old, drugged, stuffed into a bag and kidnapped ... I can well understand that she believed them,” he said.
“There doesn’t need to be a physical restraint if there is a death threat ... The girl said she tried to be very compliant with him (Herba),” Pesce added.
British model stands by kidnapping story — lawyer
British model stands by kidnapping story — lawyer
Fourth Palestine Action activist ends hunger strike in UK prison
- Amy Gardiner-Gibson began eating again after 49 days of protest
- Govt rejects claims it ignored prison safety protocols
LONDON: A fourth Palestine Action activist imprisoned in the UK has ended her hunger strike.
Amy Gardiner-Gibson, who also uses the name Amu Gib, began eating again after 49 days of fasting, the campaign group Prisoners for Palestine said.
Qesser Zuhrah, another activist, ended her hunger strike last week after 48 days but said she might resume it next year, Sky News reported.
Four Palestine Action activists have now ended their hunger strikes while in prison, while four others are continuing to fast.
All of them are in prison on remand, awaiting trial for a series of high-profile alleged break-ins and criminal damage.
Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organization and banned earlier this year.
On Tuesday, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested in central London at a rally in support of the hunger strikers.
The protesters are demanding that weapons factories in Britain with ties to Israel be shut down, as well as the removal of Palestine Action’s proscription.
They are also calling for immediate bail to be given to imprisoned pro-Palestine activists and an end to the alleged mistreatment of prisoners in custody.
Seven imprisoned members of Palestine Action have been transferred to hospital over the course of the hunger strike campaign. Doctors have highlighted concerns about the long-term impact of fasting on the activists.
Lawyers representing the group on Monday initiated legal action against the government over its alleged failure to follow prison safety regulations.
The government, however, has rejected this accusation, Sky News reported.
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Ministers do not intervene in individual cases. Where individuals are on remand, doing so would risk prejudicing ongoing legal proceedings and undermine the independence of the justice system.
“Concerns about welfare and process can be raised through established legal and administrative channels, including prison governors and ultimately the prison and probation ombudsman.
“Healthcare decisions are taken independently by qualified NHS professionals and appropriate care and oversight frameworks remain in place.”
The activists still on hunger strike include Heba Muraisi and Teuta Hoxha. Hoxha has been on remand for 13 months and her family told Sky News they feared she would die in prison.
Another of the activists, Kamran Ahmad, is believed to have been on hunger strike for 45 days and hospitalized three times.
Lewie Chiaramello, who has Type 1 diabetes, is on day 31 of his strike and taking part by fasting every other day.
