Josef Fritzl - Other Cases of Abduction and Imprisonment of Adults and Children

HISTORICAL CASES OF ABDUCTION, IMPRISONMENT, SEXUAL ABUSE & MURDER OF ADULTS AND CHILDREN
By Parents and Strangers
Original Post: 11 June 2008 / Updated 28 August 2009

"History Is A Vast Early Warning System" Norman Cousins
But Only Those With An EDUCATION, Know This.....

Some Aspects of the following Historical Cases are relevant to the Unfolding Story of Jaycee (JC) Lee (Allissa) Dugard. As We already know in the Case of the Abduction of JAYC33 L33 DUGARD, Phillip Garrido Is Using God/Religion/Angels To Manipulate Ignorant Fools and Divert Attention Away From Serious Heinous Sexual Crimes/Perversions. So did Josef "Immaculate Conception" Fritzl and Others. Well Josef's Wife Was called roseMARY.....

I have made reference to 33 above, in place of letters. Refer to my other blog HERE, which contains some examples of 33s in action elsewhere. Page Down.....

An Ordinary Couple To Irresponsible Outsiders Who Trust/Believe Anyone, In The UK
- Fred and RoseMary West's Story Below

A day was going to come when Garrido would Retire, enter the Public Eye with Maximum Media Attention, delivering Fresh Material to Hollywood, similar to the day when Fritzl arrived. Today Fritzl relaxes in a 5* Retirement Home (High Security (Mental) Institution) with maximum protection/security. No Deterrent, No Punishment, Just Maximum Protection. It Makes You Wonder......

There Were Similar Attitudes Towards Sexual Crimes Committed During World War II. They Refused To Prosecute Anyone For Sexual Crimes At Nuremberg. Refer To My Post: 4NAZI GERMANY - 'Forced Prostitution and Rape Cases Not Tried' At The Nuremberg Trials

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JAYCEE (JC) LEE DUGARD
Born 3 May 1980, South Lake Tahoe, California
Disappeared On 10 June 1991, Aged 11

On 10 June 1991, Jaycee Dugard's stepfather Carl Probyn saw two people in a gray sedan, pull up to a bus stop where Jaycee was waiting and abducted her. Her stepfather was initially a suspect in her disappearance, and took several lie-detector tests.

Alleged Abductor:
Phillip Craig Garrido (Born 5 April 1951, Contra Costa County, California, USA)
A registered sex offender who had spent time in Leavenworth Penitentiary following a 1971 conviction for rape)
Address: 1554 Walnut Ave, Antioch, CA

On 25 August 2009, Phillip Garrido brought two girls, ages 11 and 15, to University of California, Berkeley to distribute religious literature. A campus officer spotted the trio and ran a background check. After learning of Garrido's 1971 rape conviction, she contacted his parole officer. At a parole meeting the next day, Garrido brought the two girls in, along with a woman named "Allissa." They turned out to be Jaycee and the two children she had borne in captivity. Garrido and his wife (Nancy Garrido) were arrested on the spot, and Jaycee was turned over to police. On 27 August 2009, the woman was confirmed to be Jaycee Lee.

Law enforcement officers believe that Jaycee Lee Dugard was kept in outdoor sheds or tents in a hidden area behind Phillip Garrido's residence and was used as a sex slave for Garrido and his wife Nancy. Dugard became pregnant several times during captivity, bearing at least two daughters. According to law enforcement, Dugard was in good physical health, but neither Dugard or her daughters had been to school or had seen a doctor in the years since she was abducted.


News is Currently Breaking On This Story So Only A Few Links of Interest, At The Moment
FBI Kidnap File (FBI)
KCRA 3 - Full Video Interview With Phillip Craig Garrido - KCRA (USA)
Garrido kept an internet blog associated with God’s Desire church : Voices Revealed
Kidnap of Jaycee Lee Dugard - Wiki
They Slept In My Arms Every Night! : Sick boasts of kidnapper who held Jaycee Dugard for 18 years and fathered her two children - Daily Mail (UK) - 28 August 2009

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TIME IS UP!

Common Sense Must Prevail Everyone......... As We All Know, Religions Have Had Ample Time (Centuries and Each Generation) To Invoke Their God Publicly, To Demonstrate To Believers and Non-Believers Alike, that A Superior Being Exists and Even Supports Their Religious Endeavours. No Proof Has Been Forthcoming. Unfortunately history has already proven, beliefs have often been cemented through conformity, coercion/persecution/bloodshed, tax evasion/avoidance strategies and hand outs.

Common Sense Must Prevail Everyone....... As a consequence, nobody should be surprised when they eventually learn about hidden elements within religions and external entities, who have pursued impersonating God and even arousing dark/evil elements through All known Methods to mankind, including the ancient practices of Human Sacrifice and Sacrificial Worship. We can not ignore the fact that these (religious) entities may also be acting on the Assumed Communications of Energies/Dark Forces in their environment, which they believe are relaying messages, through certain Events, People and Objects.

When considering the relevance of a Human Being's judgment in life, one must consider how many facts and how much evidence a person truly gathers and needs before establishing beliefs and passing objective fact based opinions. Unfortunately Religious People do believe Something based on very little/weak evidence. This Adolescent Attitude will naturally prevail in the delivery of judgment/opinions about other issues in their life including people, outside of religion. Into this group of Adolescent Judgers, also falls people who solely pass positive judgment based on appealing physical appearances, sexual attraction, status/wealth and preferred religious identity.

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For The Purpose of Registering Factual Profiles for LEGAL REASONS/ACTIONS (Which I am Involved With Today) and for The Public Records in the UK and Abroad, Of People and Those Connected With Them, Responsible For Making False Missing Person Reports/Statements (including 9/11 - Refer To This Shocking Post : 9/11 World Trade Center Fraudsters, Scam Artists, False Victims; conflict zones, natural disasters, etc), OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE and intentionally delivering/Registering Diversionary Fictitious/Defamatory Profiles for Motives Of Silencing Factual Communications, even pursuing destroying employment, which always had the aim of Ensuring Past Crimes Of The Source(s) and Their Associates, Were not Exposed and Future Crimes (Real Harm, Injury and Death) Would Not Be Stopped, THIS POST PRESENTS INFORMATION, WHICH WAS COMMON KNOWLEDGE IN 1994-1997.

False Missing Person Reporters ALWAYS Have Something Evil/Sinister To Hide. Help These Liars Circulate False Reports and Obstruct Justice, At Future Risk To Your Families and Yourself, Especially When Someone is THEN Actually Harmed and Killed. How Stupid Are You, In Reality?

I Have Nothing to Hide About My Life - Do You?! I naturally would turn down a job with Warner Brothers Film Studios, UK.

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HISTORICAL CASES OF ABDUCTION, IMPRISONMENT,
SEXUAL ABUSE & MURDER OF ADULTS AND CHILDREN
By Parents and Strangers

Paul Martin Andrews (born 1960) is an American rape victim advocate. In 1973 (13 years old) he was kidnapped in his native Virginia and hidden in an underground box by a known sexual predator, Richard Ausley for over a week in 1973. Shackled and left to starve, he was rescued by rabbit hunters eight days later.

Thirty years after his ordeal, he went public with his story and became an activist for bolstering Virginia law with additional funding for continued civil commitments for sex offenders after their criminal sentences end. In this case, Virginia did not get a chance to test its new Civil Commitment for Sexually Violent Predators Act. Ausley's sentence was extended by five years after another victim came forward. Richard Ausley was never committed to a psychiatric facility. Instead, he was sent to a high-security prison for especially disruptive inmates and placed in a cell with a convict who had himself been molested as a child. Shortly afterwards in January 2004, Ausley was murdered in his prison cell. http://www.readthehook.com/stories/2003/01/30/coverStoryBoxedInABoysLost.html

Sabine Dardenne (born 1983) is a Belgian woman who, at the age of twelve, on 28 May 1996, was kidnapped by serial killer Marc Dutroux while on her way to school. Dardenne was one of Dutroux's last two victims. She survived, but four other girls and an alleged accomplice named Bernard Weinstein were found dead on Dutroux's properties. Dardenne and 14-year-old Laetitia Delhez, who had been abducted a couple of days earlier, were rescued on 15 August 1996 by the Belgian police, two days after Dutroux had been arrested. Dutroux admitted to having raped them both and abducting them. Dardenne's ordeal in the basement of Dutroux's house lasted 80 days. On 22 June 2004, Dutroux received the maximum sentence of life imprisonment. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/apr/18/ukcrime.features11

Lydia Gouardo was born on 13 November 1962 in Maisons-Alfort, France. She is a French woman who was imprisoned for 28 years, raped, and tortured by her legal father (he was not her biological father) in their home in Meaux and Coulommes in Seine et Marne. The abuse took place from 1971 to 1999. Lydia gave birth to six children, having been made pregnant by her father. During her imprisonment, she escaped and phoned legal aid, but her father recaptured her in a family residence in Melun. She was finally freed in 1999 when her father died. Her mother was convicted for not reporting crimes she was aware of and also for sexual abuse against one of Lydia's children.

She said while she was tortured by her father, she was not imprisoned - but she was not allowed outside the family home and was often tied up in the attic. She still has scars from her neck to her ankles, mainly burn marks from boiling water or hydrochloric acid. She said she fled their home several times when she was young, but each time was brought back by police. http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1314849,00.html

Natascha Kampusch (born 1988 in Vienna) is an Austrian woman who was abducted at the age of 10 on 2 March 1998, and remained in custody of her kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil, for more than eight years, until she escaped on 23 August 2006. Priklopil, having found that the police were after him, killed himself by jumping in front of a suburban train near the Wien Nord station in Vienna. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natascha_Kampusch

Charles “Charlie” Allen Keever (1980 - 27 March 1993) was a 13 year old boy who was murdered on 27 March 1993, in San Diego County, California, along with his friend, 9 year old Jonathan Sellers. The murder of both boys went unsolved for 8 years. In March 2001 a DNA database identified Scott Erskine as a suspect from the DNA found at the time of the murder. Erskine was already in prison for a rape committed six months after the boys murder. In 2003 Erskine went to trial on the charges of two counts of murder with the special allegations of sodomy, oral copulation, child molestation and torture and three counts of special circumstances: torture, sexual assault and multiple murders, he was found guilty. During the penalty phase one juror did not want to give Erskine the death penalty so the judge declared a mistrial for the penalty phase portion of the trial. In April 2004 a new jury was convened and they voted unanimously for a death sentence. On 1 September 2004 a California judge sentenced Erskine to death row and he was sent to San Quentin State Prison. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Charlie_Keever

Sian Kingi was a 12-year-old girl who, in 1987, was abducted, raped and killed in Noosa, Queensland, Australia. Barrie Watts and Valmae Beck, a married couple, were convicted in 1988 of the much-publicised crime and were each sentenced to life imprisonment.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/sians-murder-still-haunts-nation/2008/05/07/1210131039392.html

Polly Hannah Klaas (3 January 1981 - October/November 1993) was an American murder victim whose case gained national attention. At the age of 12, she was kidnapped at knife point from her mother's home during a slumber party in Petaluma, California on 1 October 1993. She was later raped and strangled. Richard Allen Davis was convicted of her murder in 1996 and sentenced to death. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/klaas/1.html

Kimberly Diane Leach, (28 October 1965 – 9 February 1978) was a 12 year old student at Lake City Junior High School, in Lake City, Florida, and the final and youngest known murder victim of Ted Bundy. Bundy was convicted, sentenced to death, and electrocuted by the State of Florida on 24 January 1989 for the murder of Leach. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberly_Leach

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The LINZ SISTERS, Viktoria, Katharina and Elisabeth, are three women who were imprisoned in a cellar for seven years from 1998 to 2005. They were imprisoned there by their mother, and are known as the Linz sisters because the crime took place in Linz, Austria. Their mother gained custody of the children following her divorce, at the age of 53. Afterwards, she suffered a mental breakdown. She withdrew the children, then aged 7, 11 and 13, from schooling, and imprisoned them in a cellar with no running water in near-total darkness. Her husband, a judge, was unable to see the children despite at least nine claims for access going before the courts. Over the period of their incarceration, the children developed an almost unintelligible language based on German. The girls were rescued only when police broke into the house after a neighbour, who had reported his suspicions several times, threatened a local council official with a lawsuit. On being rescued, the children were found to be severely malnourished and unable to tolerate sunlight. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21210531-2703,00.html

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Maria Monaco, 47, was kept prisoner by her family for 18 years in a small town outside Naples, Italy, for having a baby out of wedlock. Her mother Anna Rosa Golino, 80, brother Prisco, 44, a farmer and sister Michelina, 54, a primary school teacher took action after she had an affair with a mystery man and got pregnant. On 13 June 2008, she was rescued by police after an anonymous tip-off. Her brother and sister were taken into custody, accused of detaining her. Police have questioned Maria's 17-year-old son whom they said was living with his grandmother and 'fully aware of the situation'. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1026429/Woman-kept-captive-filthy-bedroom-dungeon-family-having-baby-wedlock.html

Viktor Mokhov kept two Russian girls, Lena and Katya, in an underground cell for 3 1/2 years in Skopin, Russia. Mokhov abducted the two girls in September 2000, when Lena was 14 and Katya 17 years old, from a disco. He locked them into an underground room that he had built previously underneath the garage of his home, where he regularly abused them sexually. The older girl gave birth to two boys in captivity in 2001 and 2003, and was pregnant when she was freed. Mokhov transferred the two boys to an orphanage. During the last months of their imprisonment, Mokhov took the girls occasionally for walks outside their cellar during the night. The girls managed to hide a note inside an audio cassette their captor had lent them. This note was later found by a boarder in the house, and the girls where finally freed by police in 2004. Their captor was arrested and given seventeen years in a labor camp and two more in prison. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article417480.ece

Samuel James "Jimmy" Ryce (26 September 1985 – 11 September 1995) was a child that was abducted, raped and killed by Juan Carlos Chavez in Homestead, Florida, United States. In the fall of 1998, Juan Carlos Chavez was convicted of kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder. Chavez was given the death penalty. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Jimmy_Ryce

Fusako Sano (also known by the pseudonym Sachiko Yamada) is a Japanese woman who was kidnapped at age ten by Nobuyuki Sato, and held in captivity for nine years and two months from November 13, 1990 to January 28, 2000. In Japan, the case is also known as the Niigata girl confinement incident. Sato is currently serving a 14 year prison sentence. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/01/29/world/main154723.shtml

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Elizabeth Ann Smart (born 3 November 1987) is an American woman who was abducted from her Salt Lake City, Utah bedroom on 5 June 2002 at the age of 14. She was found alive nine months later on 12 March 2003 in Sandy, Utah, about 18 miles from her home, in the company of Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Ileen Barzee, who were indicted for her kidnapping but ruled unfit to stand trial. Mitchell was a polygamist who believed it was his religious right to have more than one wife, even by force. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Smart_kidnapping

LEFT Brian David Mitchell and his Wife Wanda Ileen Barzee

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Eleuterio Soria is a 73 year old Argentine man who was sentenced to 18 years imprisonment for keeping his daughter in captivity for 11 years and sexually abusing her. He fathered two children with her. Soria's trial revealed that he began abusing his daughter in 1992, when she was 12 years old. The following year she became pregnant by her father, prompting her mother to leave their home in La Matanza, a working-class Buenos Aires district. The family's five other siblings eventually left as well. The daughter, whose name was not released, had a second child by her father in 1997. She did flee on various occasions, but would return home after he threatened their two children — often at gunpoint. She finally escaped for good in 2003 and denounced her father to authorities.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jpJ4kNdpQOa6I-ck_N-h-Ex1omvQD90QC9C01

Colleen Stan is a 20 year old woman who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by Cameron Hooker in Red Bluff, California in 1977. On 19 May 1977 Hooker kidnapped Colleen Stan a.k.a. "Carol Smith." Cameron's wife, Janice Hooker, assisted in the kidnapping. Stan was held in captivity for the next seven years. During her imprisonment, Colleen was tortured, sexually assaulted, and led to believe that she was being watched by a large organization called "The Company". Hooker had her sign a "slavery contract" supposedly from "The Company". He assigned her a new slave name, "K", causing comparisons to the Story of O. She was also led to believe that members of her family would be harmed if she attempted to escape. She may have experienced Stockholm syndrome. Hooker kept Stan locked in wooden boxes that he had made. One of the boxes was located under the bed that he shared with his wife. Hooker was sentenced to consecutive terms for the sexual assaults, which totaled 60 years. He also received 1 to 25 years for the kidnapping, plus a 5 to 10 year sentence for using a knife in the process. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/psychology/sex_slave/index.html

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GREAT BRITAIN

Frederick West and his wife Rosemary West

Frederick Walter Stephen West better known as Fred West, was an English serial killer. Between 1967 and 1987, he and his wife Rosemary West imprisoned, tortured, raped and murdered at least 12 young women. The majority of the murders occurred between May 1973 and September 1979 at the couple's home in Gloucester.

Rose came from a family where incest was common. Even after the birth of her fourth child Rose's father, Bill Letts, with Fred's approval, would often visit the West's for sex with his daughter. In December 1972 the Wests carried out a sexual assault on 17-year-old Caroline Roberts (then called Owens), and Fred West raped her. But she dropped that claim, and the following month the Wests were fined for assault, but not convicted. Their only known victim after 1979 was their daughter, Heather, who was killed in June 1987 at the age of 16.

In May 1992, West raped his 13-year-old daughter at Cromwell Street and filmed it, and then raped her twice afterwards. She discussed the incident with her brothers and sisters, who told friends at school. On 6 August 1992, the police decided to investigate, eventually leading to Fred West being charged with 12 counts of murder, with Rose as an accomplice. She was also charged with child cruelty, and the remaining children were placed in foster care. Fred confessed, retracted and then re-confessed to the murder of his daughter, denying that Rose was involved. Rose was not arrested until April 1994, initially on sex offences but later charged with murder. Further bodies were found and on 4 March 1994, West admitted that he had carried out nine more murders, including those of his first wife Rena Costello and Ann McFall.

Fred and Rose West were brought before a magistrates court in Gloucester on 30 June 1994. Immediately afterwards, Fred West was re-arrested on suspicion of murdering Ann McFall, whose body was found on 7 June 1994. On the evening of 3 July 1994, he was charged with her murder. On 1 January 1995, Fred West hanged himself while on remand in his cell at Winson Green. His brief funeral was held in Coventry on 29 March 1995. West was cremated with only three people present. Rosemary West was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Known Victims
1967 - Ann McFall (Scottish nanny and Fred's lover. Was eight months pregnant with his child). Body found in "letterbox field" near Much Marcle.
1970 - Rena Costello (Fred's first wife, also Scottish). Body found in "fingerpost field" near Much Marcle.
1972 - Charmaine West, 8 (Rena's eldest child). Body found beneath 25 Midland Road, Gloucester.
1973 - Linda Gough, 21 (seamstress from Gloucester). Body found beneath 25 Cromwell Street.
1973 - Lucy Partington, 21 (university student, from Gotherington, near Cheltenham). Body found beneath 25 Cromwell Street.
1974 - Carol Cooper,15 (schoolgirl from Worcester). Body found beneath 25 Cromwell Street.
1975 - Juanita Mott, 19 (from Newent, Glos) Body found beneath 25 Cromwell Street.
1975 - Shirley Hubbard, 15 (schoolgirl from Worcester). Body found beneath 25 Cromwell St.
1977 - Therese Siegenthaler, 21 (Swiss hitchhiker). Body found beneath 25 Cromwell St.
1977 - Alison Chambers, 17 (originally from Swansea). Body found in garden of 25 Cromwell St.
1978 - Shirley Robinson, 18 (lodger and Fred's lover. Heavily pregnant). Body found in garden of 25 Cromwell St.
1987 - Heather West, 16 (Fred and Rose's eldest daughter). Body found in garden of 25 Cromwell St.

PICTURES： BOTH KILLED - Left Rena Costello (Fred's First Wife) ＆ Right Heather West (Fred & Rose's Eldest Daughter)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary_West / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_West

Silvano Orsi and The Sheikh's Belt - A Case To Watch

Sheikh Falah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan On Right
Silvano Orsi Below

Boundaries of Civilized Behaviour in Europe

Original Post: 11 July 2008 - Updated 11 July 2009

A Shocking Story about the Conduct of Middle Eastern Wealth and Savagery in Switzerland. A Case To Watch......

"I dread to think how this Sheikh treats his Servants and Polo Ponies."


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A Swiss court has convicted a brother of the United Arab Emirates' ruler of assaulting an American man with his belt in a luxury hotel bar in the La Reserve Hotel in Geneva.

Sheikh Falah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was found guilty of inflicting "bodily harm with the use of a dangerous object" and ordered to pay a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (£5,000), according to the judgment.

If he fails to pay, it will be converted into a 100-day prison term. In addition, the sheikh faces a suspended penalty of 540,000 Swiss francs, payable in the event of another infraction in Switzerland during the next three years, and costs.

The court found the sheikh hit Silvano Orsi, from New York, repeatedly with a steel-buckled belt after Orsi declined a bottle of champagne in August 2003. The sheikh, a brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was appointed president of the UAE in 2004 after the death of their father, maintains he is innocent.

His lawyer, Marco Crisante, said he will probably appeal. He claimed Orsi's legal complaint was full of lies meant to pressure the sheikh for money.

Orsi, who also holds Italian citizenship, said the judgment was an "immense victory". "I battled for five long years for my rights," he said.

Orsi said that after he refused the champagne, the sheikh, whom he had never met, came up behind him, jostled his glasses, sat in his lap and tried to kiss and fondle him. When Orsi protested, he was assaulted, he said.

Geneva authorities said the sheikh told them he got into an argument with Orsi after hearing someone call him gay. The judgment said the sheikh "suddenly took out his belt and hit him several times with it in the face and on the head".

The three-judge court said it had taken into account testimonies from two former hotel employees.

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SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Emirates sheik appeals Swiss conviction for assault on American in hotel bar (10 July 2008) http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/10/europe/EU-Switzerland-Emirates-Sheik.php

Emirates ruler's brother guilty of assaulting man in bar (2 July 2008)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/02/internationalcrime.usa

Brother of leader guilty of beating (2 July 2008)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jul/02/briefly-53770510/

Swiss court convicts Emirates sheik for assaulting American with belt in luxury hotel (1 July 2008) http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/01/europe/EU-Switzerland-Emirates-Sheik.php

Emirates sheik tried in absentia on assault charges in Switzerland (19 June 2008)
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/06/19/europe/EU-GEN-Switzerland-Emirates-Sheik.php

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Additional Pictures (As Referred to in Comments) Have Been Removed In Anticipation of Images and Stories of Humanitarian Actions Being Delivered and Circulated Widely. Could Be Waiting a Long Time.....For The Chukkaa!


Refer to This Post For Latest Information Concerning This Case:

Silvano Orsi - Keeping an Eye on All The Players

SELF IMMOLATION - Dying For A Cause > Human Rights > Violations and Abuses

SELF IMMOLATIONS - PEOPLE WITH A HEART

Self-immolation (Latin immolare "to sacrifice") is an extreme form of protest through self-sacrifice by suicide. Immolation implies suicide by fire but the term also includes other forms of self-sacrifice.

In May 2008, I produced two posts on my AA-1177 Independent London Bombings Inquiry Blog about Dying Without Killing (Self Immolation) and Dying with Killing (Suicide Bombers). This topic is relevant to my HRLaws blog, given that many of the people who have committed self immolation have pursued raising attention about a variety of human rights violations and abuses, oppression, persecution as well as crime and political corruption, in their own countries and elsewhere. I have therefore updated this original post and included it here, on JUSTICE Will Be Served.

People who commit self immolation for humanitarian reasons are not mentally disturbed, crazy and psychopaths. In fact they deserve an enormous amount of respect because they actually Feel Immense Passion and Anger about the injustices they have personally experienced and/or their people. They harm no one except themselves, pursuing one of the most painful and prolonged methods of death. All, to expose and increase awareness about reality, the plight of people and to alleviate the suffering of those who can not protest and represent themselves.

Those who pursue Self Immolation, know Actions Speak Far Louder and More Honestly than Words. These people are not driven by Money, Materialism and Greed unlike some Politicians and Exhibitionists, who Feel only for themselves.

CENSORSHIP
Unfortunately there are Names and Self Immolation Stories missing from my list. Governments and the media have censored details. While suicide bombers receive maximum media attention and coverage, those who only harm themselves, even For The Same Reasons as Suicide Bombers, are ignored. This is concrete proof and a sad indication of what supposed Human Rights Respecting Governments actually prefer and want: the carnage and injury of tens, hundreds and thousands of innocent people for reasons of shock, awe and fear, which they then can use to manipulate and utilize for their own political and economic agendas, globally. Of course 9/11 and other MCIs are simple demonstrations of this fact.

IT CHANGES NOTHING. - IT CHANGES EVERYTHING!
Some people will claim self immolation is an unsuccessful method of changing anything. It may not change governments and the UN, but it will certainly motivate and influence many other people to take a more defiant stand and to take action themselves. If a human being genuinely feels strongly about any cause, words and theatrical speeches in public are not evidence; the proof of the depth of anyone's convictions and soul, lies in their deeds.

THICH QUANG DUC - A SHINING LIGHT
An Inspiration and Shining Light for Many Self Immolations has been Thich Quang Duc, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who committed Self Immolation on 11 June 1963. He wanted to stop the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem administration, without using violence and causing harm to anyone else.

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LET US REMEMBER SOME OF THE PEOPLE, WITH A HEART ....

MURUGATHASAN VARNAKULASINGHAM (Geneva, Switzerland)

Tamil Family Proud Of Son's 'Sacrifice' - Funeral in Northolt, West London

BBC - 7 March 2009

On the evening of Thursday 12 February 2009, a 26-year-old Sri Lankan protester poured gasoline over himself and burned to death outside the U.N. complex in the Place des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. Murugathasan was a Computing graduate living in London.

A few meters away from Murugathasan's burning body, the police found a letter typed in Tamil and English explaining why he had chosen to die: "We Tamils, displaced and all over the world, loudly raised our problems and asked for help before [the] international community in your own language for three decades. But nothing happened ... So I decided to sacrifice my life ... The flames over my body will be a torch to guide you through the liberation path."

Several hours earlier, about 500 Tamils had demonstrated on the square to protest Sri Lanka's military action against ethnic Tamils. The Sri Lankan government is fighting to crush the rebels and end their 25-year campaign for an independent homeland for the country's ethnic minority Tamils, who have suffered marginalization under the country's majority ethnic Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.

Seven Tamils - including Murugathasan - have burned themselves to death in the past month to protest about the treatment of their people by Sri Lanka's Sinhalese government. Most were in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, but on 14 February, another British-based Tamil allegedly tried to set himself on fire outside Downing Street, but was arrested before he could do so.

Links: The Guardian Newspaper (UK) / IHT Newspaper

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RAMIRO GUILLEN TAPIA (Xalapa, Mexico)

On 1 October 2008, the indigenous Mexican leader Ramiro Guillén Tapia, aged 65, attempted self-immolation during an act of protest against the local government in the city of Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. He died of heart failure the next day, after suffering third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body.

Ramiro Guillén Tapia was the chairman of the Sierra de Soteapan Human Rights Commission. The act of self-immolation was to protest authorities' refusal to award some disputed lands to his community in the Soteapan Mountains.

Links: Fox News (US) / TheNews.Co.Mx (Mexico)

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HEO SE-UK（Seoul, South Korea)

Heo Se-Uk was a 54-year-old South Korean labor union member and taxi driver who set himself ablaze on 1 April 2007 in Seoul to protest the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement. He lived for two weeks after the incident, despite serious burns on 63% of his body.

He finally succumbed to a septic infection on 15 April 2007.

Link: Heo Seuk Wiki

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UDDHAV BHANDARI (Glasgow, Scotland)

Uddhav was a Nepali asylum seeker who died after setting fire to himself at the Eagle Building in Glasgow, Scotland on 7 March 2007, prior to his immigration hearing. He died on 19 March 2007. A former police officer, he was afraid of being deported to Nepal after exposing corruption within the police force.

Links: Uddhav Bhandari Wiki / The Himalayan Times / The Herald (Scotland)

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MALACHI (MARK DAVID) RITSCHER

Malachi (Mark David) Ritscher was a Chicago musician and anti-war protestor who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest against the War in Iraq. Ritscher's self-immolation took place on the side of the Kennedy Expressway near downtown Chicago during the morning rush hour of Friday 3 November 2006.

In a suicide letter published on his website (http://www.savagesound.com/gallery99.htm), he described at length his political convictions as to the Iraq War and his choice to take his own life:

"My actions should be self-explanatory, and since in our self-obsessed culture words seldom match the deed, writing a mission statement would seem questionable. So judge me by my actions. Maybe some will be scared enough to wake from their walking dream state - am I therefore a martyr or terrorist? I would prefer to be thought of as a 'spiritual warrior'. Our so-called leaders are the real terrorists in the world today, responsible for more deaths than Osama bin Laden."

"if I am required to pay for your barbaric war, I choose not to live in your world."

Link: Malachi Ritscher Wiki

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ROLAND WEISSELBERG (Erfurt, Germany)

Roland Weisselberg (4 July 1933 – 31 October 2006) was a retired Lutheran Vicar who received public attention by his self-immolation in a German monastery. A critic of the rulers of the German Democratic Republic, he retired in 1989 because of his state of health. After the German reunification he was worried about the weakness of Christianity in East Germany and about Islam, whose rise was, as he believed, furthered by the "ambiguity of the church". Weisselberg set fire to himself in the Erfurt monastery (where Martin Luther took his monastic vows in 1505), shouting repeatedly "Jesus" and "Oscar" (referring to Oskar Brüsewitz).

Link: Roland Weisselberg Wiki

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ELEFTHERIYA FORTULAKI (Greece)

Eleftheriya was a Greek who committed self immolation in Sepolia, Athens, in order to highlight the treatment of the Kurds in Turkey. Fortulaki had a Kurdish partner, with whom she had two children. She died on 28 March 2006.

Link: Eleftheriya Fortulaki Wiki

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NEDA HASSANI (London, England)

On Tuesday 24 June 2003, Neda Hassani, aged 26, set herself on fire in front of the French Embassy in Great Britain to demand the release of Maryam Rajavi and 150 of her supporters, after a French crackdown on the People's Mujahedeen of Iran, also known as Mujahedeen Khalq Organization (MKO). It has fought an armed campaign for the past 20 years to overthrow the religious rulers of Iran. The French government had accused the MKO of plotting terrorist attacks against Iran.

Links: The Guardian Newspaper UK / Statement of David Kilgour Former Canadian Politician

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HO TAN ANH (Danang, Vietnam)

On Sunday 2 September 2001, a man burned himself to death in Danang, Central Vietnam to protest against religious persecution by the Vietnam Communist Party and its government. Ho Tan Anh, aged 61, was an honest and devoted farmer, and leader of the Buddhist Youth Movement in Quang Nam Province. He set himself on fire at 4:30 AM and died shortly later at a park of the city.

Link: Ho Tan Anh

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SHAHRAZ KAYANI (Canberra, Australia)

In April 2001, Shahraz Kayani, a Pakistani refugee settled in Australia set himself alight on the steps of Parliament House, Canberra. Dying days later in hospital, he was protesting against the refusal of the government to grant the entry of his wife and daughters into Australia, one of whom suffered from Cerebral Palsy.

Link: ABC Network (Australia)

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In 2001, a group of people self-immolated in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China. China Central Television broadcast the event nationally on Chinese new year and claimed the immolators were practitioners of the FALUN GONG. Falun Gong supporters claim it was a setup by the Chinese government.

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ALFREDO ORMANDO (Rome, Italy)

Alfredo was born in San Cataldo on 15 December 1958 and died in Rome on 23 January 1998. He was a gay Italian writer. On 13 January 1998 he set himself on fire in Piazza San Pietro (Rome) to protest the attitudes and policies of the Roman Catholic Church regarding homosexual Christians. After two policemen put out the flames, he was brought to Sant 'Eugenio hospital in critical condition. He died there 11 days later.

Link: Alfredo Ormando Wiki

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KATHY CHANGE (USA)

(Born 1950 - 22 October 1996) Kathy was a West Philadelphian performance artist and activist who killed herself in an act of self-immolation on the University of Pennsylvania campus in 1996. She explained the rationale behind her suicide:

I want to protest the present government and economic system and the cynicism and passivity of the people…as emphatically as I can. But primarily, I want to get publicity in order to draw attention to my proposal for immediate social transformation. To do this I plan to end my own life. The attention of the media is only caught by acts of violence. My moral principles prevent me from doing harm to anyone else or their property, so I must perform this act of violence against myself. . . . It is a waste of energy to get angry and gripe at the government. The government must be replaced with a truly democratic self-government of, for and by the people. Those working in industries essential to maintaining life should democratically take over their workplaces and organize an emergency economy to supply the needs of the people. The rest of the people should meet in their communities to organize a new directly democratic community-based self-government.

Links: Kathy Change Wiki / Official Kathy Change Website

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SABINE KRATZE (Hô Chi Minh City, Vietnam)

Sabine Kratze was a German student who committed self-immolation in order to protest against what she believed to be the unjust trial of six Buddhist monks which had taken place on 15 August 1995. Kratze, who was 25 at the time, set herself on fire with gasoline on 3 September 1995, in Hô Chi Minh City, in a room at a small hotel on Ly You Trong Street.

Link: Sabine Kratze Wiki

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REINHOLD ELSTNER (Munich, Germany)

Reinhold was born in 1920 in the predominantly German inhabited and cultural Sudetenland, which now lies in the Czech Republic. He was a German Wehrmacht veteran and Diploma Chemist who poured gasoline over himself and committed suicide on 25 April 1995, on the steps of Munich's historical Feldherrnhalle, in protest against what he called "the ongoing official slander and demonization of the German People and German soldiers 50 years after the end of World War II". Twelve hours later, he died in a Munich hospital.

In a farewell letter, he wrote: "With my 75 years of age, all I can do is to set a final sign of contemplation with my death in flames. And if only one German comes to consciousness and finds his way to the truth, then my sacrifice will not have been in vain."

Link: Reinhold Elstner Wiki

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DR. HOMA DARABI (Tehran, Iran)

Homa Darabi (January, 1940 - 21 February 1994) was a pediatrician from Iran licensed to practice medicine in New Jersey, New York, and California. She returned to Iran in 1976 to serve her country as a psychiatrist and after the Islamic Revolution, Islamic authorities shut down her office because she had refused to wear the hijab. On 21 February 1994, Darabi, a 54 year old mother of two daughters immolated herself in Tehran while shouting "Death to Tyranny! Long live freedom! Long live Iran!". Later, her sister Parvin Darabi named the Dr. Homa Darabi Foundation in her remembrance and co-authored with her son, a biography of Dr. Darabi, Rage Against the Veil.

Links: Dr Homa Darabi Foundation / Homa Darabi Wiki / Rage Against the Veil: The Courageous Life and Death of an Islamic Dissident Wiki

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GRAHAM BAMFORD (London, England)

On 29 April 1993, Graham Bamford doused himself with gasoline and set himself on fire in front the British House of Commons in London. Bamford did it in the hope of drawing attention to the atrocities committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, particularly the Ahmici massacre.

Bamford wrote that 'a photograph in the newspaper of a distressed little Balkan girl about the age of my own daughter galvanised me into action'. A few days later he wrote a final message: 'The British army must not be a guard of honour at a mass funeral. Bosnian babies, children, and womenfolk are waiting for the politicians to do what they know they should - give them military protection.'

A film about Graham Bamford, his actions, the silence built up around them, and also about the filmmaker and his effort to produce a film about the event are available here:

Link: Film About Graham Bamford "Graham and I"

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CHAN I-HUA (Taipei, Taiwan)

Chan I-Hua was a Taiwanese pro-democracy activist. He performed self-immolation on 19 May 1989 when the funeral procession of fellow activist Cheng Nan-jung (who had similarly immolated himself) was blocked by the police in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei.

Link: Chan I-Hua Wiki

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CHENG NAN-JUNG (Taiwan)

Cheng Nan-Jung (born 12 September 1947 in Taipei and died 7 April 1989) was a Taiwanese publisher and pro-democracy activist. He was the founder of the Freedom Era Weekly. He is known internationally for setting himself on fire to voice for Taiwanese independence.

In 1989, Cheng was charged with insurrection for printing a new Constitution for the Republic of Taiwan. An arrest warrant was issued. He refused to appear in court. When the police arrived to arrest him on 7 April, he committed suicide by self-immolation. He set fire to the building and died in the blaze. At Cheng's funeral on 19 May, another Taiwanese pro-democracy activist, Chan I-hua, also immolated himself when the funeral procession was blocked by police.

Link: Cheng Nan-Jung Wiki

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LIVIU CORNEL BABES (Poiana Brasov, Romania)

Liviu Cornel Babeş (January 19, 1942 – March 2, 1989) was a Romanian electrician and painter who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest. On 2 March 1989, Babeş died after setting himself on fire on the Bradu ski slope at Poiana Braşov in sign of protest against the communist regime. He left a message: „Stop Mörder! Braşov = Auschwitz”. In Romania, according to Law no. 93/June 3, 1997 Liviu Cornel Babeş is a hero.

Link: Liviu Cornel Babes Wiki

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SEBASTIAN ACEVEDO (Conception, Chile)

Sebastian Acevedo was a Chilean miner who committed self-immolation on 11 November 1983 as a protest against the detention of his children by the Chilean police during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet.

Following a protest in the city of Concepcion, Acevedo's children Candelaria and Galo Fernando are arrested. Their father searches for them, but at each police station officials deny any knowledge of their whereabouts. In despair, Acevedo plants himself at the Cathedral entrance, shouting "Give me back my children!" Pleading that the CNI not torture his children, Acevedo pours gasoline over his clothing, and threatens to set himself on fire. A uniformed policeman attempts to disperse the crowd that has gathered, challenging him to carry out his threat. In an instant, Acevedo strikes a match, his body igniting like a torch. He dies that same day, after learning that Candelaria has been released.

The agonizing image of 50 year-old Sebastian Acevedo, captured by a photographer, stuns the world. His act of bravery and devotion inspires the birth of a non-violent protest movement two months later. Led by priest Jose Aldunate, the Sebastian Acevedo Anti-Torture Movement becomes a broad-based organization that challenges the practice of torture.

Link: The Guardian Newspaper

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ARTIN PENIK (Istanbul, Turkey)

Artin Penik (Died 15 August 1982) was a Turkish-Armenian who set himself on fire in protest of the terrorist attacks in Esenboğa International Airport by the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA, also known as Third October) on 10 August 1982. Artin, a 61-year-old self-employed tailor, set himself on fire in Taksim plaza, the main square of Istanbul, Turkey, after leaving a suicide note in which he wrote "I can no longer bear the grief over slayings of innocent people."

Links: Artin Penik Wiki / You Tube Video: The Last Words of Artin Penik (Turkish Audio/English Subtitles) / Turkish Journal Article

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PER-AXEL AROSENIUS (Nacka, Sweden)

Per-Axel Arosenius (Born 7 November 1920 - Died 21 March 1981) was a Swedish actor of mostly supporting parts. His most prominent film role was that of Soviet defector Boris Kusenov in Alfred Hitchcock's 1969 film Topaz. After a dispute with the Swedish taxation authorities on 21 March 1981, Arosenius protested by setting himself on fire outside their office in Nacka. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. He was 60 years old.

Link: Per-Axel Arosenius Wiki

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OLEKSA MYKHAYLOVYCH HIRNYK (Kaniv, Ukraine)

Oleksa Mykhaylovych Hirnyk (Born 28 March 1912 - Died 21 January 1978) was a Ukrainian Soviet dissident, an engineer by profession, who burned himself to death as an act of protest against Soviet suppression of the Ukrainian language, culture and history. On the night of 21 January 1978, the eve of the sixtieth anniversary of Ukraine's declaration of independence by the Tsentralna Rada government, Hirnyk doused himself with four liters of gasoline and burned himself to death on Chernecha Hill, in Kaniv not far from Taras Shevchenko’s tomb. He had written close to a thousand leaflets containing quotes of Taras Shevchenko, protests against the russification of Ukraine, and calls for Ukrainian independence, and left them scattered on the hill.

In 2000 a guelder-rose bush was planted on the place of his death. By decree of the President of Ukraine on 18 January 2007 Oleksa Hirnyk was awarded the title of the Hero of Ukraine posthumously and awarded the Order of the State.

Link: Oleksa Hirnyk Wiki

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HARTMUT GRUNDLER (Hamburg, Germany)

Hartmut Gründler (11 January 1930 – 21 November 1977) was a German teacher from Tübingen, engaged in environmental protection. On November 16,1977 ( the Day of Prayer and Repentance) Gründler burned himself in Hamburg during the SPD Party Congress out of protest against "the continued governmental misinformation" in the Atomic policy of the German Federal Government, particularly concerning the permanent disposal of nuclear waste.

Link: Hartmut Grundler Wiki

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ALAIN ESCOFFIER (Paris, France)

Alain Escoffier (25 October 1949 – 10 February 1977) was a French anti-communist activist and martyr. He was a bank clerk and he had married an East-Germany refugee. He belonged to the right-wing Parti des forces nouvelles. On 10 February 1977, the thirtieth anniversary of the Treaty of Paris he self-immolated on the Champs-Élysées before the offices of Soviet airlines Aeroflot. He died crying "Communistes assassins" (Murderer Communists).

Link: Alain Escoffier Wiki

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OSKAR BRUSEWITZ (Zeitz, Germany)

Oskar Brüsewitz ((Born 30 May 1929 – Died 22 August 1976) was an East German Lutheran pastor who committed self-immolation to protest the repression of religion in the Communist state of East Germany. On 18 August 1976 Brüsewitz committed suicide by self-immolation in a public market in front of the church in Zeitz. He died on 22 August 1976.

He was critical of the East German Communist regime imposed by the Soviet Union after the war and symbolic acts of protest, including the installation of a cross of neon lamps at his church, brought him to the attention of the authorities. The leadership of his church sided with the state, rather than its priest, and asked, in 1976, for Brüsewitz to be moved to another rectorate. This was the immediate trigger for his suicidal protest.

The Communist authorities initially attempted to suppress news of the event then, when news leaked and public support for his action grew, they branded him a psychopath(!). On 31 August Neues Deutschland, the official newspaper of the SED (Socialist Unity Party of Germany), printed an article entitled „Du sollst nicht falsch Zeugnis reden“ "You shall not bear false witness" which asserted that self-immolation was the action of a sick, crazy man. 30 Years later, on the anniversary of his death, Neues Deutschland wrote an apology for the article they had carried at the time, admitting that the piece had been "slanderous" and written, not by journalists, but in one of the many offices of the central committee of the SED.

Link: Oskar Brüsewitz Wiki

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ROMAS KALANTA (Kaunas, Lithuania)

Romas Kalanta (22 February 1953 - 14 May 1972) was a Lithuanian known for his self-immolation for political reasons. Romas Kalanta set himself on fire in the square adjoining the Laisves Aleja in front of the Kaunas Musical Theatre in the Lithuanian city of Kaunas on 14 May 1972 in protest of the occupation of Lithuania and the oppression of the Lithuanian language, culture and people by the government of the Soviet Union.

Link: Romas Kalanta Wiki

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JOSEBA ELOSEGI (Spain)

Joseba Elosegi was a Basque nationalist who self-immolated trying to embrace dictator Franco during a pelota game in San Sebastián 19 September 1970. He did it as a protest against the fascist Bombing of Gernika in 1937.

Link: Joseba Elosegi Wiki

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KOSTAS GEORGAKIS (Genoa, Italy)

Kostas Georgakis (23 August 1948 Corfu, Greece – 19 September 1970 Genoa, Italy), was a Greek student of Geology, who set himself ablaze in Genoa, Italy as a protest against the Greek military junta of 1967-1974. Georgakis is considered the precursor of the later student protests, such as the Polytechnic uprising. At the time, his death caused a sensation in Greece and abroad as it was the first tangible manifestation of the depth of resistance against the junta.

His last words were: Long Live Free Greece.

Link: Kostas Georgakis Wiki

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GEORGE WINNE, JR (San Diego, USA)

George Winne Junior (Born 1947 – Died 11 May 1970) is remembered as a protester of the Vietnam War who set himself on fire in a deliberate act of self-immolation in Revelle Plaza on the campus of the University of California, San Diego on 10 May 1970, to protest the United States involvement in the war. He died ten hours later, asking his mother to write a letter to President Nixon.

His last words were "I believe in God and the hereafter and I will see you there."

Link: George Winne Wiki

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CZECHOSLOVAKIA - 1969

The wave of suicide attempts by immolation that ran through the Czech lands in the first months of 1969 was a unique event on a world-wide scale, a result of the social atmosphere at the time. After Jan Palach, 26 people attempted suicide between January 20, 1969 and the end of April including: On 22 January 1969 - Miroslav Malinka set himself on fire and Blanka Nachazelova suffocated herself with coal gas. Josef Hlavaty burned himself alive and died on 25 January 1969.

Link: Czech Radio

EVZEN PLOCEK (Jihlava, Czechoslovakia)

Evžen Plocek (29 October 1929 – 9 April 1969) was a Czech man (reform communist) who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest. Plocek died after setting himself on fire in Main Square in Jihlava, Czechoslovakia on Good Friday, 4 April 1969 in protest.

Just before his feat he dropped a paper with the text: "Truth is revolutionary - wrote Antonio Gramsci" and "I am for a human face - I can't stand the unfeeling ones - Evžen".

In spite of a number of difficulties, the workers at Motorpal were able to hold a public funeral in Jihlava. Not a word of Evžen Plocek's self-immolation made it into the central press, however.

Link: Plocek Czech Radio Archive

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Picture: The memorial to Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc in front of the National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic. There are several other memorials to Palach in cities throughout Europe, including a small memorial inside the glacier tunnels beneath the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland.

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JAN ZAJIC (Prague, Czechoslovakia)

Jan Zajíc (3 July 1950-25 February 1969) was a Czech student who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest. He was a student at the technical college, specializing in railroads, and was also interested in poetry and humanities. In 1969 he took part in a hunger strike and a commemoration ceremony by students for Jan Palach near the statue of Saint Wenceslas in Prague. It was probably this event which planted the idea of becoming Palach's successor in Zajíc's mind.

Link: Jan Zajic Czech Radio

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JAN PALACH (Prague, Czechoslovakia)

Jan Palach was a Czech student who committed suicide by self-immolation as a political protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in August 1968. Palach died after setting himself on fire in Wenceslas Square in Prague, Czechoslovakia on 16 January 1969 in protest. The funeral of Palach turned into a major protest against the occupation.

After the Velvet Revolution, Palach (along with Zajíc) was commemorated in Prague by a bronze cross embedded at the spot (shown above) where he fell outside the National Museum, as well as a square named in his honour.

Links: Jan Palach Wiki / Jan Palach Czech Radio

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RYSZARD SIWIEC (Warsaw, Poland)

Ryszard Siwiec (Born 1909— Died 12 September 1968) was a Polish accountant, teacher and former Home Army soldier who was the first person to set himself on fire in protest against the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia. A father of five from Przemyśl, Siwiec planned his self-immolation in advance, leaving written and tape-recorded statements explaining his revulsion at both the Warsaw Pact invasion and communist Poland's participation in it.

He set himself ablaze in Warsaw during a national harvest festival on 8 September 1968 at the Dziesięciolecia Stadium, and died in hospital four days later. His act was witnessed by nearly 100,000 spectators, including the national leadership and foreign diplomats who had been invited to the festival intended as a vast propaganda spectacle.

Orders (posthumous)

• Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, first class, awarded in 2001 by Václav Havel, President of the Czech Republic.
• Order of Polonia Restituta, Commander's Cross, awarded in 2003 by Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland. Because of Aleksander Kwaśniewski's past as communist dignitary, Ryszard Siwiec's family refused to accept the award.
• Order of the White Double Cross, awarded in 2006 by Ivan Gašparovič, President of Slovakia

An important and late gesture towards a symbol for the struggle against communism, according to high profile politicians, will be made. It is finally a good sign that all politicians in Poland unanimously agree that either the Polish National Stadium or a main street leading to it, will be named after Ryszard Siwiec.

Links: YouTube Film Footage of Ryszard Siwiec, Self Immolation (Polish Audio/English Subtitles) / Ryszard Siwiec Wiki / Prague Street Renamed In Honour Of Polish "Human Torch" Against Soviet Invasion (13 Feb 2009) / Polish National Stadium in the Name of a Hero? (24 Feb 2009)

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FLORENCE BEAUMONT (Los Angeles, USA)

Florence Beaumont (died 15 October 1967, Los Angeles) was an American who self-immolated herself in protest of the escalating Vietnam War. She had two children. After soaking herself in gasoline, she set herself alight in front of the Federal Building, Los Angeles.

Link: Florence Beaumont Wiki

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ROGER ALLEN LAPORTE (New York, USA)

Roger Allen LaPorte (Born 1943 – Died 9 November 1965) is best known as a protester of the Vietnam War who set himself on fire in front of the Dag Hammarskjold (UNSG Killed in Plane Crash) Library at the United Nations building in New York City on 9 November 1965, to protest against the United States involvement in the war.

At the time, he was a 22-year old Catholic Worker Movement member. La Porte died the next day from second and third-degree burns covering 95 percent of his body. Despite his burns, he remained conscious and able to speak. When asked why he had burned himself, La Porte calmly replied, "I'm a Catholic Worker. I'm against war, all wars. I did this as a religious action."

Link: Roger Allen LaPorte Wiki

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NORMAN MORRISON (USA)

Norman Morrison (29 December 1933 - 2 November 1965), born in Erie, Pennsylvania, was a Baltimore Quaker best known for committing suicide in an act of self-immolation to protest United States involvement in the Vietnam War. On 2 November 1965, Morrison doused himself in kerosene and set himself on fire below Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's Pentagon office. Morrison took his daughter Emily, then one year of age, to the Pentagon, and either set her down or handed her off to someone in the crowd before setting himself ablaze.

Link: Norman Morrison Wiki / Norman Morrison, Deed of Life, Deed of Death By Anne Morrison Welsh, Winds of Peace 1998 (PDF) PP4-7 / Norman Morrison Information

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HUH JIK (South Korea)

In 1965, a politician in South Korea, Huh Jik, set himself on fire to protest against a treaty with Japan.

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ALICE HERZ (Detroit, USA)

Alice Herz (Born 1883 – Died 26 March 1965) was an elderly Quaker and the first activist in the United States known to have immolated themself in protest of the escalating Vietnam War, following the example of Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc. A longtime peace activist, she attempted self-immolation on 16 March 1965, in Detroit, Michigan, at the age of 82. A man and his two boys were driving by and saw her burning and put out the flames. She died of her wounds ten days later.

Confiding to a friend before her death, Herz remarked that she had used all of the accepted protest methods available to activists--including marching, protesting, and writing countless articles and letters--and she wondered what else she could do. Self-immolation was her final act of protest, in a democratic country.

Links: Alice Herz Wiki / Google Book: Phoenix: Letters and Documents of Alice Herz : the Thought and Practice of a Modern-Day Martyr By Alice Herz, Shingo Shibata

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THICH QUANG DUC (Saigon, Vietnam)

Thich Quang Duc died on 11 June 1963 and was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who burned himself to death at a busy Saigon road intersection. He was protesting the persecution of Buddhists by South Vietnam's Ngo Dinh Diem administration. Photos of his self-immolation were circulated widely across the world and brought attention to the policies of the Diem regime. Malcolm Browne won a Pulitzer Prize for his iconic photo of the monk's death, as did David Halberstam for his written account. After his death, his body was re-cremated, but his heart remained intact.

'Before closing my eyes to go to Buddha', wrote Quang Duc, 'I have the honour to present my words to President Diem, asking him to be kind and tolerant towards his people and enforce a policy of religious equality.' Thich Quang Duc act increased international pressure on Diem and led him to announce reforms with the intention of mollifying the Buddhists. The promised reforms were implemented either slowly or not at all, leading to a deterioration in the dispute. With protests continuing, the Special Forces loyal to Diem's brother, launched nationwide raids on Buddhist pagodas causing deaths and widespread damage.

Several Buddhist monks followed Thich Quang Duc example and burned themselves to death. Eventually, an Army coup toppled and killed Diem in November. The self-immolation is widely seen as the turning point of the Vietnamese Buddhist crisis which led to the change in regime.

Link: Thich Quang Duc Wiki

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CHINNASWAMI (India)

In 1964 in India, a Tamil labourer called Chinnaswami set himself alight to protest against the encroachment of the Hindi language. A year later, when Hindi was supposed to replace English as the official language of India, five Tamils died by fire and three swallowed poison. Tamils have a tradition of self-sacrifice.

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STEFAN LUX (Geneva, Switzerland)

On 3 July 1936, Stefan Lux, a Jewish Czech journalist, actor and director, shot and killed himself with a revolver in the general assembly room of the League of Nations in Geneva, Switzerland during its session, to protest the treatment of Jews in Germany under Adolf Hitler.

Links: Stefan Lux Wiki / Stefan Lux Speedy Notes

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ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Dying Without Killing, History of Self-Immolations 1963–2002 (PDF) From Making Sense of Suicide Missions - Michael Biggs
Dying For A Cause By Michael Biggs
The Transnational Diffusion of Protest by Self-Immolation (PDF) By Michael Biggs, Department of Sociology, University of Oxford

Epidemiology Of Self-Immolation In The North-West Of Iran (PDF)
In this research, medical records of ninety eight cases who attempted suicide by self-immolation between 1998 and 2003 were studied.