I first became
aware of the Marc Dutroux case in 1996 when I saw a
short two column article in a middle page of an
English national newspaper which is circulated in
Ireland . It was not on the front page and it would
have been overlooked by most readers in Ireland.
......................................................................
Here is the text of the original article in the
Sunday Times December 29, 1996 - page 14
"Satanic Links to
Belgian Murder Trial by Peter Conradi - "
"Brussels Satanic sects involved in bizarre
rites including human sacrifice are being linked by
Belgian police with this summer's string of grisly
paedophile murders in which at least four children
died. Five witnesses came forward last week and
described how black masses were held, at which
children were killed in front of audiences said to
have included prominent members of Belgian society.
One investigator said it was "like going back to
the Middle Ages". The tentacles of the sects
appear to have stretched beyond the borders of
Belgium, to Holland, Germany and even America. The
witnesses - several of whom claim to have received
death threats - say that young babies were handed
over by their parents willingly in return for money.
In other cases the victims were abducted. The
witnesses, who are believed to have identified the
sites where the masses took place to the police, said
organisers had also photographed participants and
threatened to hand over the pictures if they went to
the police. The investigation centres on Abrasa*, a
self-styled institute of black magic, whose
headquarters in the village of Forchies-la-Marche in
southern Belgium was raided by police last week.
Human skulls were among the objects removed from the
run down building. Forchies-la-Marche is near the
city of Charleroi, where Marc Dutroux, the unemployed
electrician accused of the paedophile killings, was
arrested in August. The bodies of four victims of the
ring were dug up at properties he owned - but he is
feared to have killed many more. Police have long
suspected that Dutroux, a convicted paedophile, was
part of an international network which abducted
children, sexually abused them and then killed them.
Their activities appear to have been financed by the
sale of pornographic videos filmed by members of the
ring. However the revelation of a possible Satanic
link has added a bizarre twist to the affair, which
has shaken the police and judiciary and plunged
Belgium into an unprecedented wave of soul searching
over the past few months. Investigators are still
trying to determine the precise nature of the links
between the Satanists and the paedophile group. In a
separate twist, a Belgian newspaper claimed yesterday
that A FORMER EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER was among a group
of JUDGES, SENIOR POLITICIANS, LAWYERS AND POLICEMEN
who attended orgies held in a Belgian chateau and
organised by Michel Nihoul, one of Dutroux's alleged
accomplices. La Derniere Heure, which claimed to have
a guest list, did not name the commissioner but said
he "came with a girl, Josette, nicknamed JoJo,
the Bomb". Belgian police, using bulldozers and
mechanical diggers, resumed their search yesterday of
disused mineshafts in Jumet, a suburb of Charleroi,
where they believe Dutroux and his gang may have
buried bodies. A team of 12 pot-holers has also been
called in. "We are convinced that we are going
to find something interesting here", said Guy
Soumoy, a spokesman for the local police. Police
first searched the area, with its warren of abandoned
mine shafts, two months ago, after Dutroux suggested
they look there. They returned earlier this month
after a further, apparrently more detailed tip-off
from Michelle Martin, Dutroux's wife and alleged
accomplice."
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When the Marc
Dutroux case broke in August 1996 , it was
immediately labelled paedophile , but the Irish press
completely ignored the satanic allegations which were
attached to it.
At that time I was
unaware of the identical responses which were coming
from the press in other countries . I know now that
many newspapers , not only in Ireland , were
deliberately decrying the satanic connections to the
Dutroux case . The fact that most of the
international press played down the satanic
significance , makes one suspect that there is some
sort of concerted policy in these matters . The next
question is ; is there an international conspiracy of
the press?
