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| According to Spanish and German police, the group was going to perform a sacrifice similar to that performed by the ] on October 4, 1994 in ] and ], two villages in ].<ref name="elpais"></ref> | According to Spanish and German police, the group was going to perform a sacrifice similar to that performed by the ] on October 4, 1994 in ] and ], two villages in ].<ref name="elpais"></ref> | ||
| The group was thought to be planning to drink fruit juice laced with poison which was confiscated during the raid. On analysis the fruit juice was found not to contain any poison. All charges were eventually dropped against members of the group due to lack of evidence.<ref name="Suicide with fruit juice">http://archivo.diariodeavisos.com/epoca1/2004/04/21/hoy/noticias/tenerife/P40252A.html Suicidio colectivo con zumo de frutas] Diario de avisos, 21 april 2004</ref><ref name="freed">http://www.irishtimes.com/news/judge-frees-spaceship-cult-1.124111</ref> | |||
| At the time of the arrest of the sect, cultists were celebrating their farewell dinner. Fittkau-Garthe was worshiped by her followers as ''"Mother Aida"'' and had spent many months preparing for the celebration: ''"Our last dinner on planet Earth will be in Tenerife"'', she said.<ref name="elpais" /> | |||
| When interviewed by a local daily, Fittkau-Garthe made the following statement, "The group was no sect and I have never worked in one. I was accused of planning the suicide of a group of friends who had merely come over to spend Christmas in Tenerife. What actually happened in 1998 was the result of an act of a daughter’s vengeance on her mother who was one of the group. Six months before they had had an enormous family row and it was the daughter who contacted Interpol and told them her mother and another hundred people were in the mountains of Tenerife intending to commit mass suicide. The daughter, she said, had informed the authorities that the group was a destructive sect. What happened was terrible. And the worst of it all were the lies that were told concerning children."<ref name="remembering heidi"> | |||
| One of the police officers who took part in the operation came to tell, ''"They had not left anything to chance. All wore wide tunics, were barefoot and listened very soft music, like meditation. Had a huge pans full of vegetarian food"''.<ref name="elpais" /> At the gate there were four cars owned by the psychologist, as well as other rented vehicles participants had used to get to Teide, where, they believed, a spacecraft would collect their spirits and move them to an unknown planet.<ref name="elpais" /> | |||
| == Beliefs == | == Beliefs == | ||
Revision as of 11:04, 23 June 2015
Heide is a sectarian group active mainly on the island of Tenerife and in Germany. This sect is believed to be a split of the Order of the Solar Temple and is known for an abortive attempt to commit ritual suicide in Parque nacional del Teide (Teide National Park) in Tenerife. It seems that the sect had no official name, but the media called it "Heide" in honor of its founder.
History
It was founded by a German psychologist, Heide Fittkau-Garthe, who, on August 15, 1994 sold all her assets and moved to Tenerife.
On January 8, 1998, Fittkau-Garthe was alleged to have attempted suicide with her followers in Teide National Park, resulting in a police raid on the premises that the sect had in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
According to Spanish and German police, the group was going to perform a sacrifice similar to that performed by the Order of the Solar Temple on October 4, 1994 in Cheiry and Salvan, two villages in Switzerland.
The group was thought to be planning to drink fruit juice laced with poison which was confiscated during the raid. On analysis the fruit juice was found not to contain any poison. All charges were eventually dropped against members of the group due to lack of evidence.
When interviewed by a local daily, Fittkau-Garthe made the following statement, "The group was no sect and I have never worked in one. I was accused of planning the suicide of a group of friends who had merely come over to spend Christmas in Tenerife. What actually happened in 1998 was the result of an act of a daughter’s vengeance on her mother who was one of the group. Six months before they had had an enormous family row and it was the daughter who contacted Interpol and told them her mother and another hundred people were in the mountains of Tenerife intending to commit mass suicide. The daughter, she said, had informed the authorities that the group was a destructive sect. What happened was terrible. And the worst of it all were the lies that were told concerning children."Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).
There were two children in the sect, a boy of twelve and a girl of eight; apparently, the sect believed that when the eight-year-old girl turned sixteen she would beget Jesus. In an orgy she would be impregnated by one of the men of the sect and nobody would know who was to be the child's father.
Apparently, the 32 members of the sect believed that after suicide their souls would be collected by a spacecraft and taken to an unspecified destination. However, more recent articles in Tenerife News and Diario de Avisos question this, saying there was no intention to commit suicide by the group.
References
- ^ La policía frustra el suicidio colectivo de los 33 miembros de una secta en Tenerife (La Vanguardia, 9 de enero de 1998)
- Suiza cierra el caso de la matanza del Templo Solar
- ^ Beam them up, Heidi - Remembering the Las Cañadas suicide sect scare, Tenerife News Online, Retrieved, 2007-10-13
- La líder de la secta de Tenerife recaudó 300 millones entre sus fieles
- http://archivo.diariodeavisos.com/epoca1/2004/04/21/hoy/noticias/tenerife/P40252A.html Suicidio colectivo con zumo de frutas] Diario de avisos, 21 april 2004
- http://www.irishtimes.com/news/judge-frees-spaceship-cult-1.124111
- Cite error: The named reference
laopinionwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - Suicidio colectivo con zumo de frutas Diario de avisos, 21 april 2004
External links
- La líder de la secta de Tenerife recaudó 300 millones entre sus fieles. Noticia de El País. (Spanish)
- En casa de Heide. Noticia de El País. (Spanish)