Jeremiah Duggan's death not a suicide, British coroner rules

Activities of far-right LaRouche group, whose conference the Jewish student had attended, ‘may have had a bearing’ on his death, court finds

Jeremiah Duggan seen in a family photograph. Photograph: PA

Matthew Taylor

A British student who died in Germany after attending a conference organised by a far-right group did not commit suicide, a British coroner has ruled.

Overturning an earlier ruling by German authorities, Andrew Walker said on Thursday that the LaRouche group, which organised the conference, “may have had a bearing” on the death of Jeremiah Duggan, who died after being hit by two cars.

“The fact that he attended a conference run by this far-rightwing organisation … together with Mr Duggan expressing that he was a Jew, British and questioning the material put before him, may have had a bearing on Mr Duggan’s death in the sense that it may have put him at risk from members of the organisation and caused him to become distressed and seek to leave,” Walker said.

Duggan, 22, was found on a motorway near the German city of Wiesbaden on 27 March 2003 after he attended a youth event organised by the LaRouche movement. German police initially said his death was “a suicide by means of a traffic accident”. However, the student’s family, from north London, have never accepted that.

Duggan’s mother, Erica, shouted “Justice, we want justice” as the verdict was read out at north London coroner’s court.

Speaking outside, she welcomed the verdict but said she was disappointed the coroner had rejected expert evidence suggesting Duggan had been killed before his body was moved to the motorway as part of an elaborate setup.

“I was emotionally shocked and disappointed at the fact he did not take enough notice of the very powerful evidence he had from experts,” she said. “I am going to fight on but I am not sure I will do it through the justice system.”

A statement read on behalf of the family added: “We wish to express our gratitude … that the fact that he revealed that he was Jewish, British, and questioned the anti-British and antisemitic ideology may have been a factor in his death and put him at risk from those in the organisation; and that he became distressed and sought to leave the conference.

They said the ruling should serve as a warning to young people tempted to join similar cults. “We hope Jeremiah’s legacy will be that the strong message that such extremist organisations exist, which target university students for recruitment, has been heard, so that the dangers they pose can be avoided.”

Walker rejected claims that Duggan had been killed before his body was moved to the motorway but said there were unexplained injuries on his body suggesting he “may have been involved in an altercation at some stage before his death”.

Earlier, the court heard from two experts on far-right groups who said Duggan might have been put under severe psychological pressure by the group in the hours and days before his death.

The former French MP and cult expert Catherine Picard said: “Jeremiah might have been under the influence or control of the organisation LaRouche, which exploited his vulnerablity due to geographical isolation in Germany, without members of his family or girlfriend, and played on a potential loss of bearings.

“It should be noted that members of this organisation undergo significant pressure and part of the psychological pressure is being subjected to repeated conspiracy theories and antisemitic discourse.”

Prof Matthew Feldman, of Teesside University, said that once the group found out Duggan was Jewish, British and had been to the Tavistock Centre in north London – which LaRouche followers believe is a “clearing house for the Zionist British control of the world” – he would have been viewed as “enemy number one”.

“Alarm bells would have been ringing and it would have been taken very seriously by the movement.”

German police have always said the 22-year-old killed himself - but a British coroner has today rejected that

A British student found dead on a German motorway did NOT commit suicide despite police in the country insisting he killed himself, a coroner ruled today.

Jeremiah Duggan, 22, "received fatal injuries following a collision with two cars" on a road near Wiesbaden in 2003, Coroner Andrew Walker said.

But he added that revelations by Mr Duggan that he was a British Jew to members of a far-right organisation "may have had a bearing on his death".

There were also a "number of unexplained injuries" suggesting there might have been an "altercation at some stage before his death".

German police said his death was a suicide, prior to the start of a fresh inquest this week.

This conclusion was "totally rejected" by the coroner as he recorded his verdict at North London Coroner's Court.

Theories that Mr Duggan's death had been staged were also dismissed by Mr Walker, who confirmed driver testimony that the student tried to run in front of traffic on the night of his death.

The family of Jeremiah Duggan, 22, arrive at North London Coroner's Court

It had been suggested on the first day of proceedings that the crash had been a "constructed set-up".

The coroner's narrative verdict said: "Jeremiah Duggan received fatal injuries following a collision with two cars on the Berliner Strasse and died in a road traffic collision."

Mr Duggan had attended a conference run by a right-wing organisation called LaRouche in the days leading up to his death.

"Against the backdrop of the start of the Iraq war, together with Mr Duggan expressing he was a Jew, British and questioning the material put before him may have had a bearing on Mr Duggan's death, in the sense that it may have put Mr Duggan at risk from members of the organisation and caused Mr Duggan to become distressed," the verdict continued.

He added: "I totally reject that this was a suicide."

The verdict follows a 12 year battle by his family to have the original ruling overturned, after the High Court ordering a fresh inquest in May 2010.

Mr Duggan's mother shouted "justice, we just want justice" as the verdict was read out, but the family thanked the coroner for his verdict.

A statement from the family read outside court said: "We are disappointed that in the face of six separate British and European independent experts covering the fields of pathology and forensic analysis, the coroner preferred the disputed evidence relied upon by the German authorities.

"The pressure should now be put upon the German authorities to ensure this powerful and dramatic narrative verdict leads to deeper investigation in the country where Jeremiah was killed, including the role played of the LaRouche organisation.

"We hope Jeremiah's legacy will be that the strong message that such extremist organisations exist which target university students for recruitment has been heard so that the dangers they pose can be avoided."

Erica Duggan, Mr Duggan's mother, said: "I'm going to fight on.

"I'm not sure I will do it through the justice system because I would like to think very hard about whether or not the kind of investigations that have gone on in Germany and also in Britain have led me to find out how my son really died."

NextJewish British student's 'suicide by road accident' after he went to event run by German 'far right cult' is likely to have been a constructed set-up says crash expert

Jeremiah Duggan, 22, found dead on motorway near Wiesbaden in 2003
German police said death was a suicide but family have not accepted ruling
Fresh inquest opened today and heard from forensic photographic expert
Hearing in London told the student may have died elsewhere

By LUCY CROSSLEY FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 15:55, 19 May 2015 | UPDATED: 18:10, 19 May 2015

Jeremiah Duggan, 22, was found dead on a motorway near Wiesbaden on March 27, 2003 after he attended a youth event organised by the LaRouche 'far-right cult'

A British student's apparent suicide in German road accident is likely to have been a 'constructed set-up', an inquest heard today.

Jeremiah Duggan, 22, was found dead on a motorway near Wiesbaden on March 27, 2003 after he attended a youth event organised by the LaRouche 'far-right cult'.

German police said his death was 'a suicide by means of a traffic accident', but the Jewish student's family have never accepted that ruling and in May 2010 the High Court ordered a fresh UK inquest after judges said evidence of possible foul play needed to be investigated.

Jeremiah, a student at the British institute and the prestigious Sorbonne University of Paris, went from France to Weisbaden in Germany to join what he believed was a protest against the war in Iraq.

His mother, Erica Duggan, has previously said that she believes her son began to be aware of and criticise the virulent anti-Semitic views of the group, and was tortured by the group in the days before his death.

As the new inquest opened at Barnet Coroner's Court in north London, forensic photographic expert Paul Canning said that after examining pictures from the scene, 'the only possible conclusion is that it must have been a set-up'.

The inquest heard written statements by German witnesses who said they saw Jeremiah try to jump out in front of several cars on the morning of his death.

And the court was told that the drivers of the Peugeot 406 and the Volkswagen Golf, which German investigators found were involved in the death, said Jeremiah had been at the side of the road before he threw himself in front of the Peugeot, and was then run over by the Golf which was travelling behind.

The drivers said they believed he had tried to 'commit suicide'.

But Mr Canning, who has more than a decade of experience working with the Metropolitan Police, said there was no evidence of contact between Jeremiah and the two vehicles.

He said: 'After making a lengthy examination of the photographs I conclude that, based on my experience of attending hundreds of fatal and very serious road traffic accidents, that in examining the scene of the accident, the road, Jeremiah's body and both vehicles involved, I could find no traces of blood, hair, tissue or clothing on the vehicles or road, except round the immediate vicinity of Jeremiah's body.'

After examining the photos from the scene Mr Canning, an expert witness for the family, said he found a 'sand substance' on Jeremiah's jeans and in the tread of his shoes, as well as on the two vehicles, but was not found anywhere else at the scene.

Jeremiah, a student at the British institute and the Sorbonne, went from France toWeisbaden in Germany to join what he believed was a protest against the war in Iraq

He said: 'The only conclusion I can draw that both vehicles and Jeremiah were in another place other than the scene prior to the accident.'

Asked about Jeremiah's injuries, he said: 'It is very unlikely that the injuries were caused by an impact with these two vehicles.'

He also examined the damage to the two cars involved in the crash and said: 'The only possible conclusion I can draw is that these vehicles were placed there, further this was pre-existing damage on the vehicles that was made prior to this incident.

'This is backed up by the lack of other evidence, such as blood, body, hair or clothing from Jeremiah on the two vehicles.'

Asked by north London coroner Andrew Walker if it looked like a re-constructed road traffic collision, he replied: 'Yes, I'm completely baffled at how it was done.

German police said his death was 'a suicide by means of a traffic accident', but the Jewish student's family, including sister Esther, mother Erica and father Hugo Duggan, (left to right) have never accepted that ruling

'The only conclusion I could draw was that this damage was fabricated or pre-existing.

'They say a photograph speaks a thousand words and I think what speaks most to me is what is missing from these photos.'

He added he found the lack of sand at the scene 'really alarming'.

Mr Canning said: 'The only conclusion I can draw was that it was a set-up. I found no evidence to link Jeremiah to these two vehicles. The only think I could find was the sand substance."

The coroner then asked: 'So what we are looking at in your opinion is a likely road traffic collision reconstruction with all damage to the vehicles placed there?'

Mrs Duggan (pictured), has previously said that she believes her son began to be aware of and criticise the virulent anti-Semitic views of the group, and was tortured by the group in the days before his death

The expert replied: 'As incredible as it seems sir, that is correct. It would need an expert team to carry out that amount of damage.'

He added: 'In my 30 years of experience I have never ever come across anything like this in real life before.'

He said the damage to the Peugeot, which is alleged to have hit Jeremiah, appeared to have been caused by a 'heavy metallic instrument' or possibly another car rather than a person.

And he described damage on the Volkswagen, which is said to have run Jeremiah over after he jumped out and hit the Peugeot, as 'inconsistent'.

The original British inquest into Jeremiah's death in 2003 rejected a verdict of suicide after hearing about the LaRouche movement and its German think-tank, the Shiller Institute.

Lyndon LaRouche, the movement's leader, has been condemned by Jewish organisations as an anti-semite.

Jewish Mr Duggan, who was originally from Golders Green in north London, is said not to have been aware of the nature of the group before attending the event.

On the morning he died he called both his girlfriend and mother and allegedly sounded 'agitated'.

He told his mother, 45 minutes before he was killed: 'Mum, I am in deep trouble.'

The family, who were present at the inquest today, have been fighting for 12 years for the case to be reopened.

They won a victory in December 2012 when the German Higher Court ruled that the Wiesbaden authorities' original investigation had been flawed and opened a new inquiry, which is still ongoing.

Father Hugo Duggan told the inquest today that LaRouche had thought his son 'was a spy'.

He told the court his son had gone to study at the British Institute in Paris and after being given a job at the New Solidarity, the publication of LaRouche, had gone to the organisation's conference in Weisbaden .

Mr Duggam claimed a witness told the family about the chaos at the LaRouche conference in the days after his son died.

Jeremiah died in Germany in 2003 and was found here on Route 455, the Bundestrasse, near Weisbaden

Jeremiah's father Hugo (left) told the inquest that LaRouche had thought his son 'was a spy'

He told the inquest: 'All their members, about 30 or 40 of them, gathered in the room and were addressed by Helga LaRouche, the wife of LaRouche .

'At that stage she said "Jeremiah Duggan is dead we believe he was a spy sent to harm the organisation.

'"I want you to pack up and go home and do not discuss this among yourselves or others".'

Mr Duggan also told the court about a meeting with the German ambassador at the embassy in London several months after Jeremiah's death.

'He said to us "we know about LaRouche we have been trying to get him for years",' said Mr Duggan.

He also showed the court a map of Weisbaden in Germany, showing the route his son had taken on the night he died.

The new inquest opened today at Barnet Coroner's Court in north London (pictured)

And he wiped away tears as a birthday card his son had sent him for his 60th birthday - shortly before he died - was read out in court.

In it Jeremiah had told his father he would be back 'real soon' and they would be able to celebrate together.

Paying tribute to Jeremiah he said: 'He was somebody I was very close to.

'When he was a child we used to play hide and seek and run round the house and screams of laughter used to fill our home.

'He was a popular boy, with great friends and he had a mischievous sense of humour. He was delightful company.'

He claimed his son was not political but got interested in world affairs following the 9/11 attacks.

'He had a great social consciousness and sense of fair play and humanity about him,' Mr Duggan said.

The inquest, which is scheduled to last three days, continues.

Jeremiah Duggan did not commit suicide, coroner rules

By Matei Clej, May 22, 2015

Jeremiah Duggan

Jewish student Jeremiah Duggan did not commit suicide, a coroner has ruled.

Andrew Walker "totally rejected" a ruling by a German court that Mr Duggan had killed himself by running out in front of traffic on a motorway in Wiesbaden, Germany in 2003.

The coroner also ruled that the fact that Mr Duggan had revealed himself to be Jewish while attending a conference of the extreme Larouche organisation may have had a bearing on how he died, causing him to be distressed and at risk from other members of the organisation.

Recording a narrative verdict at the end of a three-day inquest at Barnet Coroner's Court, Mr Walker ruled that at 6am on March 27 2003, Mr Duggan received fatal injuries following a collision with two cars on a dual carriageway some distance from the flat he was staying at.

Earlier that night, Mr Duggan, who had been lodging with a family in Wiesbaden, made an "alarming" phone call to his mother and girlfriend before fleeing the house of his hosts.

In reaching his conclusion, the coroner also rejected the assertions of several expert witnesses instructed by the Duggan family, that the scene of their son's death had been arranged to appear as suicide.

Mr Walker said, "The fact that he attended a conference run by this far-right wing organisation and the method that the organisation used to recruit young persons at that time against the background of the start of the Iraq war, together with Mr Duggan expressing that he was a Jew, British and questioning the material put before him, may have had a bearing on Mr Duggan's death in the sense that it may have put Mr Duggan at risk from members of the organisation and caused Mr Duggan to become distressed and seek to leave.”

The coroner noted a number of unexplained injuries discovered by a pathologist, which "suggest that Mr Duggan may have been involved in an altercation at some stage before his death".

A statement read outside court on behalf of the Duggan family expressed gratitude to the coroner, including his finding that LaRouche was a "far right wing organisation", and the fact that Mr Duggan had revealed himself as Jewish and British may have been significant in his death.

They expressed disappointment at some of Mr Walker’s findings, however, stating that, "In the face of six separate British and European independent experts covering the fields of pathology and forensic analysis, the coroner preferred the disputed evidence relied upon by the German authorities," they said

"We hope Jeremiah's legacy will be that the strong message that such extremist organisations exist which target univeristy students for recruitment has been heard so that the dangers they pose can be avoided."

Mr Duggan’s mother, Erica Duggan said: "I hope this will be Jeremiah's legacy, that students are warned against the dangers of these kinds of extremist groups that target them.

She added: "I do want to say that in no way have the German authorities carried out a thorough investigation."

Of the doroner's verdict she said, "I was emotionally shocked and disappointed that he didn’t take enough notice of the powerful evidence from the experts."

Asked if she'll continue her fight for justice for her son, she said: "I'm not sure I will do it through the justice system. I would like to think very hard where the kind of investigations that have gone on in Britain and Germany have led me to find out how my son died."

Anti-Semitic cult may have subjected Jeremiah Duggan to ‘mental violence’ before his death

15:13 21 May 2015

Emma Youle

Jeremiah Duggan

A Golders Green student who died in an apparent suicide in Germany had fallen under the influence of an extreme right-wing anti-Semitic cult which placed its members under “significant psychological pressure”, an inquest has heard.

"Jeremiah Duggan was sucked into this movement on the pretext that it was a leftist movement... He revealed himself as a British Jew who has been to the Tavistock and was then rejected by the movement who saw him as a spy. As a result action might have been taken."

Anthony Metzer QC, for the Duggan family

Jeremiah Duggan was found dead on a motorway near to Wiesbaden on March 27, 2003, after he attended a youth conference in the city hosted by the extremist group LaRouche.

German police said his death was suicide after witnesses claimed they saw Jeremiah try to jump out in front of several cars on the morning of his death.

But a new UK inquest at Barnet Coroner’s Court heard that 22-year-old Jeremiah had begun to question the ideology of the LaRouche group after being exposed to a gruelling schedule at the conference, with students attending hours of meetings, lectures, one-on-one sessions and seminars.

Catherine Picard, former French MP and cult expert, today told the inquest that Jeremiah might have been “under the influence or control” of LaRouche, which was described as “a cult” which is “apparently left-wing, masking extreme right-wing speech”.

A coroner today ruled Golders Green student Jeremiah Duggan did not commit suicide in Germany in 2003 after his family's decade-long campaign for justice

Ms Picard, president of French anti-cult organisation UNADFI, said Jeremiah would have been subject to a process of “infantilisation” that caused “complete confusion” and that if he had questioned LaRouche’s ideas it would have left him exposed to “psychological violence”.

She told the inquest: “The testimony gathered by UNADFI confirmed that Jeremiah Duggan might have been under the influence or control of the organisation LaRouche, which exploited his vulnerability due to geographical isolation in Germany without members of his family and girlfriend, and played on a potential loss of bearings.”

She continued: “Members of this organisation undergo significant psychological pressure. Part of this pressure is repetitive conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic discourse that overtime can destabilise.”

Coroner Andrew Walker asked Ms Picard if knowledge of Mr Duggan’s British and Jewish identity in the organisation would cause a problem.

Hugo Duggan, pictured in 2010 during the family's Justice For Jeremiah campaign. Picture: Nigel Sutton

Speaking through a translator, she replied: “Yes, you could say so, because it would cause suspicion about his integrity, commitment and his allegiance to LaRouche.”

The court heard that LaRouche may have turned against Jeremiah and believed he was a spy because of suspicion about his “integrity, commitment and allegiance” to LaRouche.

It was said the organisation believed Jeremiah was linked to the Tavistock Clinic in Hampstead, which LaRouche has long considered with animosity.

Tavistock is a clinic Jeremiah had attended for counselling after his parents’ divorce.

She said along with being Jewish and British this may have led the organisation to suspect his loyalty.

Anthony Metzer QC, representing the Duggan family, said: “What we submit is that Jeremiah Duggan was sucked into this movement on the pretext that it was a leftist movement. He was sucked in. He revealed himself as a British Jew who has been to the Tavistock and was then rejected by the movement who saw him as a spy. As a result action might have been taken.”

Mrs Picard was also asked to analyse 30 pages of notes made by Jeremiah at the LaRouche youth conference he attended before his death.

She said it showed that Jeremiah was an intellectually structured person at the start of the conference.

She said: “Jeremiah was a good student, somebody who was intellectually very structured. When you see the total of all these notes that he’s written up to this last page you see the destructuralisation of the way he thinks.”

She continued: “It’s almost like an infantilisation of the person. It’s the feeling that somebody that did used to have the ability to reason, he would have felt completely overwhelmed by all the things he’d been told over these few days to the point that it no longer made any sense.”

She added: “He would mostly have been through a sort of psychological violence; I can’t answer on the physical side, but there would certainly have been a mental violence towards him.”

http://www.derwesten.de/panorama/fall-von-jeremiah-duggan-wird-neu-aufgerollt- id10689212.html

Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung

Jeremiah Duggan case reopened 19 May 2015, 18:55
Jeremiah Duggan case reopened Jeremiah Duggan Photo: dpa

London Did cult drive the Jewish student to his death in Germany?

Jeremiah Duggan case reopened | WAZ.de - Read more at: http://www.derwesten.de/panorama/fall-von-jeremiah-duggan-wird-neu-aufgerollt- id10689212.html#plx864909065

London. Did cult drive the Jewish student to his death in Germany?

Jeremiah Duggan was 21 years old when he died on a road in Wiesbaden in 2003. "Suicide by means of a traffic accident" is what the German authorities decided at the time. But now there is evidence that suggests that the young British Jew was fleeing from the LaRouche cult. A judge in London has now determined a date for a new investigation of the circumstances of the death.

Jeremiah's mother has never believed that her son killed himself. She commissioned investigations after the German authorities concluded their investigations after a short time. She filed disciplinary complaints. And she achieved a decision to force investigations, quite rare in German legal history, according to which a decision by the OLG Frankfurt ordered the Public Prosecution Office in Wiesbaden to investigate again. Yet little has happened. The same police officer who handled the case in 2003 was assigned it again in 2012, and one cannot claim that he had worked quickly expeditiously.

Jeremiah Duggan case reopened | WAZ.de - Read more at: http://www.derwesten.de/panorama/fall-von-jeremiah-duggan-wird-neu-aufgerollt- id10689212.html#plx864909065
Twelve years after Jeremiah Duggan's death, an inquest in Great Britain is now attempting to shed light on the case. On Tuesday, a three-day inquest began in Barnet, North London, which should demonstrate at least one thing: namely that the interpretation by the German authorities cannot be correct.

According to them, Jeremiah was first hit by a Peugeot, hurled in the air, and then run over by a VW Golf. An expert stated his position at the beginning of the inquest in London. Paul Canning took a closer look at 42 photos made of the scene of the accident and the vehicles. He found "not the slightest trace of blood, tissue, or clothing" on the two cars. No blood or human tissue was to be found on the road, either. Canning: There cannot have been an accident at the alleged scene of the accident.

Phone call to the mother

If that is true, then the version which Erica Duggan considered more likely gains credibility: namely that the LaRouche organization is behind her son's death.

Jeremiah Duggan participated in an event of the local Schiller Institute in March 2003 and outed himself as a Jew. Apparently thus concretely endangering his life. On the 27th of March, he telephoned his mother from Wiesbaden, saying he was in trouble, she should come immediately. Three-quarters of an hour later, he was already dead.

Erica Duggan assumes that Jeremiah was chased to his death, if not murdered, by members of the LaRouche organization. Various pieces of evidence are to be discussed in the three-day hearing.

Joachim Wittmann

Frankfurter Rundschau online (fr-online.de), 20 May 2015

http://www.fr-online.de/rhein-main/kriminalitaet-deutsche-justiz-im- zwielicht,1472796,30741852.html

Crime: German judicial authorities appear dubious

By Jochen Wittmann

Fighting for her son: Erica Duggan. Photo: dpa

Sensational revelations at the beginning of the inquest: Twelve years after the death of a young British man in Wiesbaden, the authorities in London have reopened the case. Their assessment: The "suicide by means of a road traffic accident" assumed by the German authorities was a set-up.

In March 2003, a young British man met his death in Wiesbaden under strange circumstances. The police and the public prosecution office decided that Jeremiah Duggan, a 22-year-old Jew from London, had run onto the dual carriageway B 455 with the intent to commit suicide and had thrown himself in front of a car.

His mother Erica Duggan never believed the official version of "suicide by means of a traffic accident." She commissioned investigations after the German authorities concluded their investigations after a short time. She filed disciplinary complaints. And she achieved a decision to force investigations, quite rare in German legal history, according to which a decision by the OLG Frankfurt ordered the Public Prosecution Office in Wiesbaden to investigate again. Yet little has happened. The same police officer who handled the case in 2003 was assigned it again in 2012, and one cannot claim that he had worked quickly expeditiously.

Twelve years after Jeremiah Duggan's death, an inquest in Great Britain is now attempting to shed light on the case. UK law requires that a Coroner, an investigative officer with the status of a judge, is appointed to determine the cause of death in cases of unexplained death. On Tuesday, a three-day investigation began in Barnet, North London, which should demonstrate at least one thing: namely that the interpretation of the German authorities cannot be correct.

Expert expresses doubts

According to the authorities, Jeremiah was first hit by one car, hurled in the air, and then run over by a second one. A forensic expert stated his position on this matter at the beginning of the inquest in London. Paul Canning took a closer look at 42 photos made of the scene of the accident and the vehicles involved. He found "not the slightest trace of blood, tissue, or clothing" on the two cars, which must, however, be expected if there had been a collision at high speed. No blood or human tissue was to be found on the road, either. The two vehicles displayed a number of points of impact that a collision with a body could not have produced.

He had found sand both on Duggan's clothing and on the soles of his shoes as well as on the two cars, but not on the asphalt of the dual carriageway B 455. Canning concludes: There cannot have been an accident at the alleged scene of the accident. The sand suggests that Duggan and the two cars were at another place together. In short: In his opinion, the accident was a set-up: "It must have been a set-up."

Speculations about cult

Quite sensational revelations for the beginning of an inquest. Not only does it make the Wiesbaden authorities look stupid; after all, they could have reached similar conclusions twelve years ago if they had only conducted proper investigations and had not prematurely played the "suicide" card. If it is true that the accident was a set-up, then the version which Erica Duggan considers more likely gains credibility: namely that the LaRouche organization is behind her son's death.

This movement, called a "political cult" by the German federal government, is in evidence under covert names such as "Buergerrechtsbewegung Solidaritaet," "Schiller Institute," or "European Workers' Party" and is considered notorically anti-Semitic. Its European headquarters is in Wiesbaden. Jeremiah Duggan participated in an event of the local Schiller Institute in March 2003 and outed himself as a Jew. Apparently thus concretely endangering his life. On 27 March he telephoned his mother in the early morning hours in panic, saying he was in trouble, she should come immediately. Three-quarters of an hour later, he was already dead. Erica Duggan assumes that Jeremiah was chased to his death, if not murdered, by members of the LaRouche organization. Various pieces of evidence that could support this hypothesis are to come up for discussion in the three-day hearing.

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