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Two Satanists Commit Suicide in Bishkek

Independent Bishkek TV, via BBC Monitoring, Kyrgyzstan
Aug. 15, 2005
www.monitor.bbc.co.uk

ReligionNewsBlog.com • Tuesday August 16, 2005

Text of report by Kyrgyz Independent Bishkek Television on 15 August

[Presenter] Our correspondents are continuing their own investigation into suicide in Bishkek. To remind you, two girls – 16- year-old and 27-year-old – holding hands jumped down from a roof of a multistorey building in Vostok-5 neighbourhood on 8 August. Two more people committed suicide in the same way and in the same place on 12 July. Police officers found brochures with Satanist texts at the site in both cases. Our journalists managed to find witnesses to the tragedy.

[Correspondent] A Bishkek city’s resident, Angelina, lived with her grandmother before committing suicide. She almost did not remember her mother. Her grandfather was rude to children. Neighbours say that the girl was withdrawn and very trustful. Such people are a good find for sectarians. Angelina fell under Satanists influence.

[A neighbour, a woman with her face closed] I saw that she had a tattoo on her shoulder. I asked her: Why did you disfigure yourself like this? You would better tattooed a flower, a rose or something. This was a Satanist sign. I do not remember the tattoo but it was something very unpleasant.

[Correspondent] Angelina did not have friends. Some young people started to visit her several months ago, neighbours said. They spent much time sitting on a bench in the yard and smoked a lot. Regular participants of talks in the yard were two people – a strange girl, whose name was Hanna, and a tall lad, whom neighbours do not know.

[The neighbour] I thought that he might be their pimp, because he behaved not as their equal, but as if he was superior to them, as if he ruled them. After that these girls also started to come often. I think they even lived with Galya for a week.

[Correspondent] The same neighbour said that Hanna, who is wanted by the police, was providing the girl with Satanist literature. Indoctrination by the sectarians and ideas from a so-called Satanist bible shattered the psychology of the girl, which was not very stable even before that.

[The neighbour] Yes, once she said to me: Why am I not like others? Why have I no boyfriend? Why is my life not improving? And sometimes I want [changes tack] No, she said, I will probably jump down from a building. She had this thought at that time. They might at that time [changes tack]. It was about two months ago.

[Correspondent] In the beginning of August, Angelina, together with a 16-year-old Dina committed suicide by jumping from the roof of a 12-storey building. These girls knew the suicides. They involuntarily became witnesses to a horrible event. A strange notebook was found at the scene of the suicide.

[A witness] This notebook was about Satan. The last page said that we must sacrifice ourselves for Satan, there was their signature and the date. First, they threw the notebook down and after that they jumped here from the roof.

[Correspondent] Girls confirm that the suicides had a very limited circle of contacts. It cannot be called anything but a sect. They often gathered on the roof of the unfortunate building. Smoking and drinking alcohol is not a sin for Satanists.

[The witness] They proved to be members of a sect. There are 14 people in the sect. They have a leader. I do not know who he is. A lad is the leader.

[Oktyabr Urmanbetov, the deputy head of Bishkek city Sverdlovskiy district's interior affairs department] We are identifying their ties, their acquaintances. Some names are mentioned in the last will. We are looking for them. We are also looking for the leaders of the sect.

[Correspondent] Orthodox priests said that the goal of Satanists is to make a person commit suicide. According to their rules, when the last converted person kills himself their spiritual leader must do the same. For this reason recruiting is very active, law- enforcement officers say. The police have started searching for the founders of the sect.