33 VOLUME 8 |ISSUE 2 |2017
News Desk
As a service to members, the ICSA News Desk sends out,
approximately once a week, an email that contains a noteworthy
article. If you have not signed up to receive the News Desk email,
please write ICSA at mail@icsamail.com In each ICSA Today issue,
the News Desk provides summaries and excerpts from recent
news articles. These articles are available to members in the ICSA
E-Library.
Woman describes being held captive by London cult for 30
years
“As a child, Katy Morgan-Davies sought solace in her bathroom
tap. ‘I used to tell the tap, “You are on my side,” she says. ‘I’d kiss
the tap. I’d hug the toilet when the flush worked.’ Her comments
are a telling example of the brutal upbringing the now 33-year-
old faced having being born into a Maoist cult that its leader
intended to rule the world. Katy would spend 30 years trapped
in the commune in Brixton before she was finally able to escape
in 2013. Her captor Aravindan Balakrishnan, also known as
Comrade Bala,1 who she would discover after her escape was
her father, was jailed last year for 23 years for rape and false
imprisonment spanning several decades. …Katy was brought
up wearing gender-neutral clothes, without toys or contact with
other children. She barely if ever went to the doctor or dentist,
being taught NHS meant Never Help Self. She was taught if
she rebelled against Bala [Balakrishnan] then everyday objects
would rebel too, hence why she was amazed when light switches
worked or toilets flushed. She managed to escape in 2005, aged
22, but after approaching police officers at her local station, was
persuaded to let them call Bala, who turned up and reassured
them ‘all was well.’ …Incredibly, she says she does not hate her
captor. ‘I did used [sic] to hate him,’ she said. ‘I just felt completely
powerless. But life is also very short. There is no time to be spent
on hatred and anger.’ … ‘I would like to reconcile with him in the
future,’ she added. ‘If he wants it.’” (Metro.co.uk, 01/18/17)
[1] Aravindan Balakrishnan created and was the leader of a cult that
followed the teachings of China’s Chairman Mao.
Bikram Yoga founder stripped of empire after losing sexual
harassment case
“The founder of a superheated form of yoga followed by
celebrities such as Madonna, Beyonce, and David Beckham has
been stripped of his worldwide empire and ordered to hand
over his fleet of luxury cars, it was reported yesterday. Bikram
Choudhury, 70, was said to have been told to surrender his
business after losing a sexual harassment case in Los Angeles.
…Ms Jafa-Bodden, 47, alleged that she had been wrongfully
dismissed for investigating allegations against him of sexual
harassment and assault. …She joined the Bikram empire in
2011, having studied at Oxford and worked in international
litigation at a firm in the City of London. She was awarded
$US6.4 million by Los Angeles superior court. The award was
reduced to $US4.6 million in April, although with legal costs
the total judgment in favour of Ms Jafa-Bodden is said to be
nearly $US6.7 million. After the latest ruling, Ms Jafa-Bodden is
to receive the 700 franchised Bikram Yoga studios around the
world and Choudhury’s fleet of 43 cars, which includes 13 Rolls-
Royces, eight Bentleys, and three Ferraris. She told The Mail on
Sunday: ‘Bikram is no longer the boss of Bikram Yoga. I am. I’ve
been to hell and back but the jury has spoken. Bikram has tried
to conceal assets and has fled America, but justice will be done.’
…In October Choudhury gave an interview to HBO’s Real Sports
in which he called the women accusing him of rape ‘trash’ and
said that ‘one drop of my sperm’ was worth $US1 million. The
yogi said he could cure ‘Parkinson’s disease, Aids, cancer,’ and that
5,000 women a day—’the most beautiful, famous, rich women in
the world’—wanted to sleep with him. Choudhury’s lawyer, Mark
Share, could not be reached for comment. The allegations have
yet to be investigated by the police.” (The Australian, 01/02/17)
Chile court extends cult leaders’ sentences
“Chile’s highest court has increased the sentences of three
Germans found guilty for their leadership roles at the infamous
Colonia Dignidad, a sect that oversaw child molestation and
other human rights abuses. The court increased by one year
the sentences set by an appeals court to five years and one day
for Kurt Schnellenkamp, Gerhard Muecke, and Karl van den
Berg for the formation of a criminal organisation. The court also
issued similar sentences for former Chilean intelligence agents
Fernando Gomez and Pedro Espinoza. Four other defendants
were released. No more appeals are possible, and the judgement
is binding. Located in the Andean foothills 300 kilometres south
of the capital Santiago, Colonia Dignidad—’Dignity Colony’—
was a German commune founded by German-born cult leader
Paul Schaefer in 1961. The heavily guarded, 15,000-hectare
colony was used as a secret detention and torture centre for
political prisoners during the 1973–1990 dictatorship of General
Augusto Pinochet. At its height, about 300 people lived at
Colonia Dignidad under draconian conditions, sealed off from
the rest of the world and subject to abuse that included the
systematic sexual molestation of children. Schaefer, an ex-Nazi
corporal who convinced 250 German followers to emigrate
with him to Chile after authorities began investigating him, was
sentenced to 33 years for child sexual abuse and other crimes
and died in prison in 2010.” (NEWS.com.au, 12/31/16)
Fears mount over scale of Buddhist-sect sexual abuse
“Followers allege they were coerced into sex in [the] 1970s and
80s with elders of UK’s Triratna order, … one of the UK’s largest
Buddhist orders, [which] has been forced to report allegations
of sexual abuse after a former follower claimed he was coerced
into sex with one of its elders. In a separate development, the
group’s founder has apologised for having relationships with its
members—some of which, he has previously acknowledged,
News Desk
As a service to members, the ICSA News Desk sends out,
approximately once a week, an email that contains a noteworthy
article. If you have not signed up to receive the News Desk email,
please write ICSA at mail@icsamail.com In each ICSA Today issue,
the News Desk provides summaries and excerpts from recent
news articles. These articles are available to members in the ICSA
E-Library.
Woman describes being held captive by London cult for 30
years
“As a child, Katy Morgan-Davies sought solace in her bathroom
tap. ‘I used to tell the tap, “You are on my side,” she says. ‘I’d kiss
the tap. I’d hug the toilet when the flush worked.’ Her comments
are a telling example of the brutal upbringing the now 33-year-
old faced having being born into a Maoist cult that its leader
intended to rule the world. Katy would spend 30 years trapped
in the commune in Brixton before she was finally able to escape
in 2013. Her captor Aravindan Balakrishnan, also known as
Comrade Bala,1 who she would discover after her escape was
her father, was jailed last year for 23 years for rape and false
imprisonment spanning several decades. …Katy was brought
up wearing gender-neutral clothes, without toys or contact with
other children. She barely if ever went to the doctor or dentist,
being taught NHS meant Never Help Self. She was taught if
she rebelled against Bala [Balakrishnan] then everyday objects
would rebel too, hence why she was amazed when light switches
worked or toilets flushed. She managed to escape in 2005, aged
22, but after approaching police officers at her local station, was
persuaded to let them call Bala, who turned up and reassured
them ‘all was well.’ …Incredibly, she says she does not hate her
captor. ‘I did used [sic] to hate him,’ she said. ‘I just felt completely
powerless. But life is also very short. There is no time to be spent
on hatred and anger.’ … ‘I would like to reconcile with him in the
future,’ she added. ‘If he wants it.’” (Metro.co.uk, 01/18/17)
[1] Aravindan Balakrishnan created and was the leader of a cult that
followed the teachings of China’s Chairman Mao.
Bikram Yoga founder stripped of empire after losing sexual
harassment case
“The founder of a superheated form of yoga followed by
celebrities such as Madonna, Beyonce, and David Beckham has
been stripped of his worldwide empire and ordered to hand
over his fleet of luxury cars, it was reported yesterday. Bikram
Choudhury, 70, was said to have been told to surrender his
business after losing a sexual harassment case in Los Angeles.
…Ms Jafa-Bodden, 47, alleged that she had been wrongfully
dismissed for investigating allegations against him of sexual
harassment and assault. …She joined the Bikram empire in
2011, having studied at Oxford and worked in international
litigation at a firm in the City of London. She was awarded
$US6.4 million by Los Angeles superior court. The award was
reduced to $US4.6 million in April, although with legal costs
the total judgment in favour of Ms Jafa-Bodden is said to be
nearly $US6.7 million. After the latest ruling, Ms Jafa-Bodden is
to receive the 700 franchised Bikram Yoga studios around the
world and Choudhury’s fleet of 43 cars, which includes 13 Rolls-
Royces, eight Bentleys, and three Ferraris. She told The Mail on
Sunday: ‘Bikram is no longer the boss of Bikram Yoga. I am. I’ve
been to hell and back but the jury has spoken. Bikram has tried
to conceal assets and has fled America, but justice will be done.’
…In October Choudhury gave an interview to HBO’s Real Sports
in which he called the women accusing him of rape ‘trash’ and
said that ‘one drop of my sperm’ was worth $US1 million. The
yogi said he could cure ‘Parkinson’s disease, Aids, cancer,’ and that
5,000 women a day—’the most beautiful, famous, rich women in
the world’—wanted to sleep with him. Choudhury’s lawyer, Mark
Share, could not be reached for comment. The allegations have
yet to be investigated by the police.” (The Australian, 01/02/17)
Chile court extends cult leaders’ sentences
“Chile’s highest court has increased the sentences of three
Germans found guilty for their leadership roles at the infamous
Colonia Dignidad, a sect that oversaw child molestation and
other human rights abuses. The court increased by one year
the sentences set by an appeals court to five years and one day
for Kurt Schnellenkamp, Gerhard Muecke, and Karl van den
Berg for the formation of a criminal organisation. The court also
issued similar sentences for former Chilean intelligence agents
Fernando Gomez and Pedro Espinoza. Four other defendants
were released. No more appeals are possible, and the judgement
is binding. Located in the Andean foothills 300 kilometres south
of the capital Santiago, Colonia Dignidad—’Dignity Colony’—
was a German commune founded by German-born cult leader
Paul Schaefer in 1961. The heavily guarded, 15,000-hectare
colony was used as a secret detention and torture centre for
political prisoners during the 1973–1990 dictatorship of General
Augusto Pinochet. At its height, about 300 people lived at
Colonia Dignidad under draconian conditions, sealed off from
the rest of the world and subject to abuse that included the
systematic sexual molestation of children. Schaefer, an ex-Nazi
corporal who convinced 250 German followers to emigrate
with him to Chile after authorities began investigating him, was
sentenced to 33 years for child sexual abuse and other crimes
and died in prison in 2010.” (NEWS.com.au, 12/31/16)
Fears mount over scale of Buddhist-sect sexual abuse
“Followers allege they were coerced into sex in [the] 1970s and
80s with elders of UK’s Triratna order, … one of the UK’s largest
Buddhist orders, [which] has been forced to report allegations
of sexual abuse after a former follower claimed he was coerced
into sex with one of its elders. In a separate development, the
group’s founder has apologised for having relationships with its
members—some of which, he has previously acknowledged,
