A roundup of the latest news on Monday

New York crypto investor charged with kidnapping and torturing Italian man for weeks

A crypto investor has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and torturing an Italian man in a Manhattan home for weeks as part of a scheme to extract his cryptocurrency passwords, Ansa reported on Sunday.

John Woeltz, 37, was arraigned in a New York Criminal Court on Saturday morning on charges of kidnapping with intent to collect ransom and unlawful imprisonment, among other counts.

Woeltz was taken into custody after the victim managed to escape an apartment in the upscale Manhattan neighbourhood of SoHo, where he was allegedly tortured for weeks.

The 28-year-old victim, who hasn’t yet been named, was taken to a nearby hospital and was in stable condition, police said. 

At Woeltz’s arraignment on Saturday, prosecutors said that the victim had been lured to the Manhattan home by being told he would be able to retrieve Bitcoin which he had been previously forced to send the suspect.

The suspect took the victim’s electronic devices and passport and demanded that he give up his cryptocurrency passwords in order to steal it. 

When the victim refused, the weeks-long torture began. According to prosecutors, the victim was drugged, shocked with electric wires and, at one point, dangled from the ledge of the apartment.

Polaroid photos documenting the torture were retrieved from the Manhattan apartment, according to the New York Times.

The victim told police he arrived in New York from Italy on May 6th and was abducted on the same day.

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Italy’s rail operator FS tests Elon Musk’s Starlink for onboard internet connectivity

Italy’s state-owned operator Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) is testing Elon Musk’s satellite internet service Starlink for a project to enhance connectivity on board high-speed trains, Italian Transport Minister Matteo Salvini said on Friday, according to Il Sole 24 Ore. 

Starlink is one of two providers currently being tested by FS to “make internet connectivity possible on trains across the entire high-speed network,” Salvini said.

“If the trial goes well, I’ll be the first to back a deal with Starlink,” he added, while also noting that the final decision will be made independently by FS.

Salvini’s announcement was met with criticism by members of the opposition. 

Angelo Bonelli, the leader of Italy’s Greens and Left Alliance (AVS), said that “Meloni and Salvini are locking Italy into a model of digital, military and political subservience to the US”.

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Lorenzo Basso and Antonio Nicita, from the centre-left Democratic Party (PD), said that Salvini was considering “making a gift” to Musk by awarding Starlink a lucrative contract.

Earlier this year, PM Giorgia Meloni’s government entered into talks with Musk’s Space X company to use Starlink to provide secure telecommunications for Italian diplomats and military forces abroad.

Advanced negotiations have recently screeched to a halt due to Industry Minister Adolfo Urso’s opposition to the deal, according to Italian media reports.

Council of Europe urges governments ‘not to weaken’ human rights convention

The Council of Europe on Saturday urged European governments not to undermine the European Convention on Human Rights after Italy and eight other EU states called for a review of the accord, particularly on migration issues.

“As we face today’s complex challenges, our task is not to weaken the convention, but to keep it strong and relevant,” Alain Berset, secretary general of the 46-member Council of Europe, said.

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Last week, nine countries, including Italy, Denmark, Austria and Poland, signed a letter calling for “a new and open-minded conversation about the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights”.

“We have to restore the right balance,” they said.

Berset said that while debate around the Convention is “healthy”, the ECHR must not be “weaponised” by governments.

“Institutions that protect fundamental rights cannot bend to political cycles. If they do, we risk eroding the very stability they were built to ensure,” he said.

The letter urging a review of the Convention was made public on Friday following a meeting in Rome between Italian PM Giorgia Meloni and Danish PM Mette Frederiksen.

ECHR rulings on migration issues, including emergency injunctions blocking deportations of rejected asylum seekers, have irked several European governments in recent years.

Since the start of Meloni’s administration in October 2022, the court has issued multiple rulings against Italy over its treatment of migrants.

With reporting from AFP.