This story broke over the weekend. On Sunday she was unnamed, but on Monday her face was all over the tabloids and her agent was dealing with the press. The BBC is being very careful with its words too, speaking on an 'alleged' kidnap. Something just doesn't smell right.
Quote:
A British model who was allegedly held captive by a gang in Italy was told she would be sold in the Middle East "for sex", her lawyer has said.
Francesco Peschi also told the BBC how Chloe Ayling, 20, had been acting under duress when she was taken shopping by her captor before she was freed.
Ms Ayling was allegedly kidnapped by a group calling itself Black Death before she was released five days later.
She came home on Sunday, 26 days after she flew to Milan for a photo shoot.
There, Italian police say she was attacked by two men, drugged with ketamine and abducted, apparently to be sold in an online auction.
It is alleged the kidnappers attempted to sell the model online for £230,000 and demanded her agent paid a ransom fee.
Mr Peschi said Ms Ayling, from Coulsdon, south London, was told she was to be "sold to somebody in the Middle East for sex".
He said she had gone shopping with her captor because she had been threatened with death.
"She was told that people were there watching her and were ready to kill her if she tried anything," he said.
"So she thought that the best idea was to go along with it and be nice to her captor, because he told her he wanted to release her somehow and some time."
Judging by the rate at which Estuary is spreading, I should say about six months. Admittedly vast chunks of the Home Counties got swallowed in 1965, so that Croydon, Bromley, etc got swallowed, Oddly Kingston upon Thames is still the county town of Surrey despite being in the LB of Kingston. (I think). Update, it's Guildford, but the County Hall is in Kingston. I think that makes Surrey unique in having its county council sit outside the county. So maybe my dad had a point.
Incidentally, in the latest series of Fargo, there is a British character played by David Thewlis, and I have commented on how weird I thought his accent was, like it was meant to be what Yanks think non-posh Brits talk like. I read a review the other day which said his accent was so spot-on North London that you could almost tell which street in East Finchley it comes from. I grew up in Dulwich/Streatham, and went out with a girl from East Finchley, and believe me I never heard anyone from round there talk like that. The consonants are a bit like a hyper Dot Cotton. What do you think?
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centrox
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Tue 8 Aug, 2017 01:30 pm
It gets weirder. The alleged kidnapper says he did it to raise money to pay for treatment of his leukaemia.
I'm taping Fargo. It's one of those things I don't watch until I've got it all on tape, then it's once a night for about a week. So I'll reserve judgement because I don't want spoilers.
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centrox
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Tue 8 Aug, 2017 01:40 pm
I won't give you any spoilers, but I will say that it is very, very good.
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centrox
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Tue 8 Aug, 2017 02:10 pm
We are chewing our way through the original 1990-91 Twin Peaks seasons 1 & 2 at the rate of one a night and also watching Season 3 (The Return) every week. oddly, neither of us watched it at the time but we are hooked now.
And Milan anti-Mafia deputy prosecutor Paolo Storari, in charge of the probe, told The Sun that investigators were not anymore looking at the inconsistencies in the story.
He said: “We did look into these at the very start, straight after the model’s first statements, but we are not investigating in that direction anymore now.
“It is clear: we believe, and are moving along this line, that it was indeed a case of kidnapping and don’t see any inconsistencies in the story.”
What is disturbing to me, is the kidnapper. Lukasz Herba, is claimed to have un-tied her in the end and slept beside her on the bed. Gave her chocolate and underwear each morning. No doubt still drugs.
Yes, a couple of weeks ago. We are having a David Lynch season. Films on Saturdays, Twin Peaks in the week. We watched Inland Empire last weekend. 3 hours. As a critic said, a work of genius, I think.
The brother of the alleged captor of British model Chloe Ayling is to fight extradition to Italy, Westminster Magistrates' Court has heard.
Michal Konrad Herba, 36, appeared in court for an extradition hearing following his arrest in Tividale, West Midlands, on Wednesday.
He is the brother of Lukasz Pawel Herba who is being held by Italian police over the alleged kidnap in Milan.
Michal Herba denies involvement. The case was adjourned until 25 September.
Prosecutor Florence Iveson told the court that he was suspected of kidnapping and unlawfully detaining Ms Ayling in a "joint enterprise" with his brother and other "unidentified persons".
The 20-year-old model was allegedly drugged and a ransom of €300,000 (£270,000) was demanded, the court heard.
Defence lawyer Katherine Newbey said "no evidence had been served in the case" and her client "denies involvement".
Mr Herba did not consent to extradition, meaning that a full hearing will have to take place.
Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram remanded the suspect in custody, saying he was satisfied there were "substantial grounds" to believe he would fail to surrender if he was released.
Mr Herba is due to appear in the same court by video link for a bail application on 23 August.
A full extradition hearing has been scheduled for 25 September.
Ms Ayling, from Coulsdon, south London, arrived in Milan on 10 July for a photo shoot.
Italian police say she was attacked by two men, drugged with ketamine and abducted, apparently to be sold in an online auction.
She is believed to have been transported in a bag to an isolated village near Turin, Italy, but was released on 17 July.
Lawyers for the brother of the alleged captor of British model Chloe Ayling say the entire case could be a "sham", invented as a "publicity stunt".
Michal Konrad Herba, 36, is accused of conspiring with his brother Lukasz Herba, who is in custody in Italy, to abduct 20-year-old Ms Ayling.
His lawyer told the extradition hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court that the case had a "set of anomalies". Mr Herba has denied involvement.
The court is set to rule on Friday.
Prosecutor Florence Iveson said Mr Herba has been requested by the court of Milan in relation to a single offence of kidnapping arising from events between 11 and 17 July.
"The allegation is that Mr Herba acted in complicity with his brother, Lukasz Herba, and other unidentified persons to kidnap the victim in Milan," she said.
"It is said she was drugged and kidnapped and a 300,000 euros (£270,000) ransom was demanded."
Michal Herba has been in custody since his arrest in the Tividale area of Sandwell, West Midlands, in August.
Ms Ayling has said she was drugged and bundled into the boot of a car after being tricked into attending a bogus photo shoot in Milan on 11 July.
But Michal Herba's lawyer, George Hepburne Scott, said: "There is a real risk that the entire case is a sham."
Referring to "open source material", Mr Scott said: "The same complainant, it seems, generated publicity from the fact she was near the scene of a terrorist attack at the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
"Prior to the release of the complainant, the kidnapper apparently issued a press release to a tabloid newspaper setting out that this lady was being held for auction."
He told the court of an alleged incident during which Ms Ayling and her captor went shopping for shoes and called it a "wholly anomalous feature of a hostage situation".
She also went to breakfast with the kidnapper before her release when they found the British consulate was closed, Mr Scott added.
"This case has a unique set of anomalies which might lead to the conclusion that the Italian authorities have been duped and that their process has been abused," Mr Scott told the district judge.
Michael Herba's lawyers argued that any extradition could breach his right to a family life under the Human Rights Act, as he has a heavily pregnant girlfriend in the UK.
Mr Scott also said there was a lack of "particularity" in the allegations, which refer to a "strong body of evidence", including DNA samples, statements from the victim, and telephone wire taps.
District Judge Paul Goldspring said much of the material relied on by Mr Scott came from press reports, which he said did not prove any of the theories in the case.
Ms Ayling, from Coulsdon, south London, says she travelled to Milan on 10 July for a photo shoot.
Italian police say she was attacked by two men, drugged with ketamine and abducted, apparently to be sold in an online auction.
She is believed to have been transported in a bag to an isolated village near Turin, but was released on 17 July.
Speaking after the alleged abduction, Ms Ayling said she feared for her life throughout the "terrifying experience".
"I'm incredibly grateful to the Italian and UK authorities for all they have done to secure my safe release," she said.
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