Latest news with #SupremeCriminalCourt
CNN
a day ago
- CNN
Suspects in New York crypto kidnapping case granted bail
Two men accused of torturing and holding a man hostage in a Manhattan townhouse for several weeks as they tried to access his cryptocurrency were granted bail Wednesday, according to updated case information. New York Supreme Criminal Court Judge Gregory Carro set bail at $1 million each for John Woeltz, 37, and William Duplessie, 33, who have been in custody since their arrest in May. Woeltz and Duplessie pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including kidnapping, assault and coercion. The 28-year-old victim, reportedly an Italian cryptocurrency trader, arrived in New York City from Italy in early May. He was abducted on May 6, police told CNN. It's not clear whether the victim knew the men who kidnapped him. Prosecutors said the unnamed victim was tortured for days, threatened with death and at one point dangled over a railing unless he revealed his Bitcoin password. When he refused, he was beaten, shocked with electric wires, and struck in the head with a firearm, they said. The accused also allegedly bound the man's wrists and threatened to kill his family, according to the Manhattan District Attorney. In late May, the victim escaped the apartment where he was allegedly being held after agreeing to provide his password, which was stored on his laptop in another room, prosecutors said. When one of the suspects turned his back, the victim fled the apartment and sought help from a traffic officer, police said. He was taken to a hospital and treated for injuries that prosecutor Michael Mattson said were consistent with his descriptions of being bound and assaulted, the Associated Press reported. Woeltz, a Kentucky native and cryptocurrency investor, was arrested after the victim's escape. Duplessie, a Miami resident, turned himself in the following week. A search of the townhouse turned up a trove of evidence, Mattson said, including cocaine, a saw, chicken wire, body armor and night vision goggles, ammunition, and polaroid photos of the victim with a gun pointed to his head, the AP reported. Inmate records show that, as of Wednesday evening, both men are still in custody. Their next court appearance will be scheduled for October 15. CNN has reached out to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office for further comment. CNN's John Miller, Gloria Pazmino and Mark Morales contributed to this report.
Shafaq News
6 days ago
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Feyli community calls on Iraq to act on genocide recognition
Shafaq News – Baghdad Iraqi lawmakers, activists, and Feyli Kurdish representatives convened in Baghdad on Saturday to demand urgent action to restore the long-denied rights of the Feyli community, citing decades of forced displacement, property confiscation, and continued marginalization. The Member of the Feyli Front Sara Hussein underscored the community's historical suffering under previous regimes, including mass displacement and executions. Despite political change in Iraq, most Feylis have yet to regain their seized assets or receive compensation, she told Shafaq News. 'Today, we are still marginalized. Parliamentarians and officials have made efforts to implement laws protecting our rights, but bureaucratic hurdles and overlapping jurisdictions continue to block Property Restitution Law,' she stated, urging parliament to prioritize Article 140 in the next legislative session. Hussein also highlighted the neglect facing the Feyli language, warning that it risks extinction without serious cultural revival efforts. 'The Feyli language is distinct from Kurdish and holds unique cultural and social value.' Generational trauma and official recognition According to community data, more than 22,000 young Feylis went missing in the 1980s, and some 5,000 merchants were reportedly buried alive. Nearly 600,000 were deported from Iraq, with only about 10% managing to recover their properties or secure compensation. In 2010, Iraq's Supreme Criminal Court recognized the persecution of Feyli Kurds—including forced disappearances and property confiscations—as acts of genocide. Additionally, the Head of the Feyli Women's League Sabah Nur al-Din stressed the importance of raising awareness through such symposiums, emphasizing the need for young MPs to champion the community's rights.
Shafaq News
04-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
President Barzani on Feyli Kurds' Genocide: Iraq must restore citizenship to victims
Shafaq News/ On Friday, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani marked the 45th anniversary of the Feyli Kurds' genocide, calling on the Iraqi government to compensate the victims 'in all aspects.' In a post on X, the Kurdish president described the genocide as a 'brutal campaign' by the former Iraqi regime, which subjected thousands of Feyli Kurds to execution, arrest, deportation, enforced disappearance, denationalization, and asset confiscation—"solely for being Kurds who supported the Kurdish revolution.' ئەمڕۆ یادی پڕ له ئازاری چل و پێنجەمین ساڵڕۆژی جینۆسایدی هەزاران کوردی فەیلی ده‌که‌ینه‌وه کە لە هەڵمەتێکی دڕندانەی ڕژێمی ئەوکاتی عێراقدا، ڕووبه‌ڕووی کوشتن و دەستگیرکردن و ڕاگواستن و ونکردن و لێسەندنەوەی ڕەگەزنامە و دەستبەسەرداگرتنی ماڵ و سامانیان بوون، تەنها لەبەر ئەوەی کوردن و… — Nechirvan Barzani (@IKRPresident) April 4, 2025 Reaffirming his commitment to restoring Feyli Kurds ' rights and ensuring justice, Barzani urged the Iraqi government to fully compensate them, as ruled by Iraq's Supreme Criminal Court, while also calling for the restoration of their citizenship, the return of confiscated properties, and the resolution of ongoing issues affecting the community. 'This genocide, like all attempts at erasure and crimes against the people of Kurdistan, marks a dark chapter in history—one that brought only suffering and instability to the country,' he added. 'The past must serve as a lesson to build a better future founded on understanding, partnership, acceptance, and the protection of all communities' rights in Iraq.'
Shafaq News
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Iraqi Deputy Speaker calls for resolving displaced Feyli Kurds' cases
Shafaq News/ Iraqi Deputy Speaker of Parliament Shakhwan Abdullah Ahmad called on Thursday for state institutions and ministries to resolve the outstanding cases of displaced Feyli Kurds and ensure their legal rights. In a statement issued by the parliamentary media office, Abdullah commemorated the 45th anniversary of the Feyli Kurdish Martyrs' Day, recalling the suffering under the former Baathist regime. 'We urge the federal government and its ministries to address the grievances of the Feyli Kurds, restore their confiscated lands and properties, and implement legal measures to ensure their full rights.' The statement said. The Baath regime launched a large-scale campaign against the Feyli Kurds in the late 1970s and early 1980s, stripping them of Iraqi citizenship and seizing their movable and immovable assets. The community had previously suffered deportations, detentions, and killings under President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr in the early 1970s, followed by intensified persecution under Saddam Hussein in 1980. Historians attribute the deportations to both sectarian and ethnic factors. In 2010, Iraq's Supreme Criminal Court classified the mass displacement and forced disappearances of the Feyli Kurds as acts of genocide. That same year, the Iraqi government pledged to reverse the injustices inflicted on the community, and on August 1, Parliament officially recognized their persecution as a crime of genocide.
Voice of America
04-03-2025
- Politics
- Voice of America
VOA Kurdish: 37 Years after Halabja chemical attack, genocide bill remains unpassed
Despite six parliamentary terms, the Kurdistan Parliament has yet to pass a bill recognizing the 1988 chemical attack on Halabja as genocide, hindering efforts to prosecute companies and individuals who collaborated with the former Ba'ath regime. While more than 4,000 people have filed lawsuits, the absence of legal recognition has weakened their cases. Although Iraq's Supreme Criminal Court declared the attack a genocide in 2010, legal efforts in Kurdistan remain stalled. Advocates hope that a long-awaited bill, currently under parliamentary review, will finally be passed to provide justice for victims and their families. Click here for the full story in Kurdish.
