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<mask> (Russian: Сергей Николаевич Курдаков; March 1, 1951 – January 1, 1973) was a former KGB agent and naval officer who from his late teen years carried out more than 150 raids in underground Christian communities in regions of the Soviet Union in the 1960s. At the age of twenty, he defected to Canada while a naval officer on a Soviet trawler in the Pacific and converted to Evangelical Christianity. He is known for having written The Persecutor (also known as Forgive Me, Natasha), an autobiography that was written shortly before his death in 1973 and published posthumously. Since its publication, it has been the source of varied criticism. Caroline Walker, a US Christian journalist, attempted to document the story of Kourdakov, but her findings revealed that the story was largely a fake made up in order to earn political asylum in Canada. The documentary produced by Damian Wojciechowski about Walker's findings, Forgive Me, <mask> won numerous awards worldwide. The Persecutor
According to The Persecutor <mask> was born on March 1, 1951, in Novosibirsk Oblast, Soviet Union.His father Nikolai Ivanovich <mask> was a soldier in the Soviet Army and a political activist who was a very loyal supporter of Joseph Stalin. He led a brigade in the Winter War and led a unit under General Konstantin Rokossovsky in World War II. After the war, Nikolai helped set up a military base and became the base chief. Although <mask> was told that his father died by being shot, he found out much later from a friend of his father's that when Nikita Khrushchev became Premier of the Soviet Union, he had ordered the elimination of important officers who had supported Stalin in order to consolidate his power, and that <mask> had been one of them. <mask> lived with his mother until her health began to deteriorate and when he was four years old, she became very ill and died. He was invited to live with a family who had known his mother. It was there that he learned to read and count.<mask> got along well with everyone in the family except with their son Andrei, whom he believed to be mentally handicapped. At the age of six, he decided to run away after Andrei tried to kill him by shoving his head into a filled bathtub. For ten days, he lived in Novosibirsk, thieving from food stands until he was caught and sent to the police. He was promptly sent to an orphanage then known as Children's Home Number One, where he joined the Octobrianiks, a Soviet youth organization required for all children grades one through three. After three years, he was transferred to an orphanage for older children forty miles away in Verkh-Irmen. There he joined Youth Pioneers, the Communist youth organization required for children nine through fifteen. <mask> also joined a gang that turned into a reign of terror for the city.In response to this looming threat, the police ordered the orphanage to be shut down in 1961 and all the children separated to different orphanages. Barysevo orphanage
<mask> then went back to Novosibirsk to once again live in the train station and steal from the food stalls. Eventually he was caught and sent to another orphanage, this one in Barysevo. He later said that living in that orphanage had been a turning point in his life. In his autobiography, he wrote "An atmosphere of fear prevailed throughout the home. We were afraid of the aunts and uncles (orphanage employees). They were afraid of Big Irene and Uncle Nichy, who, in turn were afraid of the party leaders.Barysevo became a camp of hate and fear, divided between the wardens and the children." He soon discovered that the orphanage at Barysevo had a caste system-esque society created by the orphans, with "slaves" on the bottom, "lieutenants" in the middle, and the "king" at the top. Starting off as a slave, he soon challenged a lieutenant and won his position. By the time he was fourteen years old, he became king, replacing his friend Nikolai who was transferred to a different orphanage. As king, he met a thirteen-year-old boy whose parents were declared unfit to be parents due to their religious beliefs. Due to the boy's own Christian beliefs, he was nicknamed "the Deacon". <mask> soon befriended him and ordered any teasing towards him to stop.Interest in communism
At the age of fifteen, <mask> joined Komsomol, also known as the Communist Union of Youth. The director of the school he attended, known as Comrade Skripko, saw interest in him and had convinced him to join. <mask> cultivated a great interest in Marxism-Leninism, one that was not particularly shared with his friends in his orphanage. During high school, he was also excelling in all of his school subjects and learned to speak German. The school director eventually offered him the opportunity to lecture younger classes about on various subjects, generally subjects having to do with communism. In the summer of 1965, <mask> and two close friends of his obtained a large amount of hashish from Turkestan and began a narcotics business. Initially successful, his business ended after a group of gang members that discovered he was carrying the narcotic took him into an alley and stabbed him in the back for it, almost killing him.While recovering from his injury, <mask> realized that he had to make a decision for what he would do with his life: either follow the course of his friends and continue dealing in the underworld or seriously focus on building a career in communism. He chose communism. By this time <mask> had already become the leader of the Communist Youth League of his area. He graduated from his school in June 1967 and was awarded a silver medal for being the second best student in his grade level. For much of the last year of school, he focused on pushing and improving the League as much as he could, hoping to make it the most successful one in his district, a position that was indeed awarded to it during the judging of Leagues, which happened annually. Post-school
After graduating school, <mask> faced the decision on what career path to take for his military obligation and chose the Navy. With high honors and grades, and an outstanding recommendation from his old school director, he applied to and was accepted into the Alexander Popov Naval Academy in Leningrad.Although a newcomer, he was chosen to be the leader of the school's Communist youth organization due to the record of his leadership in his previous organization. At the academy, <mask> met Pavel Sigorsky, a Pole who taught him Polish. After completing a year of study at the academy in July 1968, he continued his studies at the Petropavlovsk Naval Academy in Kamchatka, at the Eastern border of Russia. Before going to the academy and during his military summer vacation, he traveled again to Novosibirsk to visit his old friends, who were all involved in gangs. Shortly after attending a peace conference he was invited to between a gang his friends were in and another nearby gang, <mask> was shot in the left breast in revenge by a member of the other gang. Miraculously, he survived because the bullet first shot through multiple layers of clothes and through his thick address book and all of his identification papers before lodging itself in his skin. Before going to the naval academy, <mask> spent two weeks in Blagoveshchensk, a city that borders China, serving in a naval military unit against the Chinese army.At one point he partook in a small battle. Finally in late September 1968, he arrived at the port city Petropavlovsk. Again, because of his past experience and record, he was chosen to be the leader of the academy's Communist Youth League. From then on, along with his studies, he was in charge of carrying out orders sent from the Komsomol headquarters in Moscow, listening to the grievances of cadets and argue in favor of them if he was convinced the cadet was right, and discipline any cadet who appeared to be undermining Communist commitments, often shocking them into performing better. In just that single year at the academy, <mask> served as the League leader, performed well in his studies, organized entertainment events for the cadets, lectured at nearby schools on many current events topics, and competed in all of the sports offered by the academy. As a KGB agent
While working at his Communist Youth League office in May 1969, <mask> was visited by Ivan Azarov, a well-known KGB official. He came to tell him about a "special-action squad" he was forming as an official but secret branch of the city's police.After telling <mask> that he had gone through his record all the way to his days in Children's Home Number One and complimented him on his ability to captivate people so well during speeches, he stated his desire to place him as the leader of this new group. Although <mask> tried thinking of reasons to reject the offer while Azarov was telling him all this, he immediately reconciled after hearing the pay he was to receive for each operation—twenty-five rubles. At the time he received seven rubles per month as a naval cadet and if he were to become an officer in the Navy, he would still only receive seventy rubles per month. One of the main duties of being the leader of this organization was to pick the best men from the academy to work in the organization, usually consisting of about fifty men. <mask> later wrote that he assumed that with this "special-action squad," he would be dealing with "drunks, murderers, wife beaters, and other lawbreakers the regular police couldn't take time to deal with." And true to his assumptions, that was what he and his team were assigned to deal with. For the most part, they would be sent to bars and clubs to break up fights.But after a few operations, the group was told that their abilities would be put to a different use, breaking up or raiding secret Christian home worship services. Under the leadership and influence of Ivan Azarov, <mask> and the others in his group became convinced that Christians, "Believers" as they were always referred to, were a serious threat to the Communist party and the Soviet Union. Aside from "roughing up" the members of a service, they were also instructed to arrest the leaders of the group and confiscate any bibles and other religious texts. Sometimes they were told to arrest every participant. Christian persecutions
The first of these operations, as <mask> puts it, ended in disaster. When they arrived at the house where the meeting was, none of the members put up a fight, leaving the group in a very awkward and uncomfortable position. For a while from then on, the group received mostly orders to break up more fights.The squad's first major operation was in small village called Elizovo, near the Avacha River and 35 miles to the north of Petropavlovsk, where a baptism service was being held. Clubs in hand, the group hid in nearby bushes preparing for the Believers to arrive. Soon after they had finished the baptisms, the squad sprung into action. In just five minutes, all of the Believers were knocked down to the ground, all of them bleeding in one way or another. One girl's ear had been split open, and the group's pastor lay dead and floating down the river. As further torture and humiliation, the bleeding young girls of the group were stripped naked and driven in that state to the police station, an act greatly disapproved of by Ivan Azarov because everything conducted by the squad needed to be done in secret, and that doing something like that could turn the people against the police. Many of these raids continued in similar fashions [May-Dec. 1970].The leaders of the worship groups were usually arrested and sentenced to many years in Siberian labor camps. Along with the duties of being the leader of the police group, Sergie <mask> continued studying at the naval academy, hoping to become a radio engineer in the Navy. He still retained his position as the leader of the academy's Communist Youth League and continued to compete in the school's sports, primarily consisting of wrestling, judo, karate, and track. Any religious writings found during raids were confiscated. Any printed materials, including bibles, were sent to Moscow where they were studied and analyzed. In his book, <mask> quoted Azarov on the use of printed material: "Another organization and department branch has been established in Moscow to study the teachings of these Believers, so we can better oppose and defeat them. There our finest scholars are studying their literature, including their Bible, in order that they can learn how to better fight their religious beliefs.It's sort of a complete and full-scale Bible college." Another one of <mask>'s duties as leader of the squad was getting rid of other religious texts, specifically the handwritten or very old materials, which were usually used to heat furnaces. The group was able to determine where Believer meetings were happening before they began through use of spies in the networks of underground churches throughout the region. These people were paid much more than <mask> and his men because if they attended a meeting that was going to be raided, they would end up being beaten as much as the Believers. Another part of <mask>'s job was to prepare reports and record the names of all of the Believers caught, to be entered into a nationwide database in Moscow. <mask> later wrote that "In addition, a three-by-five-inch card with the Believer's picture, birth date, and other data was sent to the police station. These cards were kept in a special file.Any time the party chose, the Believers could be rounded up and removed from society quickly." Meeting Natasha
During one of these raids, <mask> took particular notice of one of the Believers, Natasha Zhdanova, whom he at the time saw as particularly attractive. At that particular raid, one of the squad's members Victor Matveyev had smashed her against a wall. <mask> had usually assumed that Believers, especially younger ones, would distance themselves greatly from Christian meetings after experiencing the wrath of his group. But only three days later, he found her at another meeting. This time he decided to take matters into his own hands, delivering a very severe beating. After reading her records and discovering that she had been part of the Communist Youth League, <mask> saw it as his duty to set her straight and had her come to the police station to have a talk with her, in hopes of frightening her into breaking off from the underground Christian church.But only one week later, during yet another meeting, they found her again. Alex Gulyaev, another member of the squad, moved to attack her with his club, when Victor jumped between them. When Alex demanded that he get out of the way, Victor said, "Alex, I'm telling you, don't touch her! Nobody touches her! [...] She has something we don't have! Nobody touches her! Nobody!"The raid ended abruptly as all of the meeting's members were sent out. Natasha Zhdanova's name was later used in the alternate title for <mask>'s autobiography The Persecutor, which was also published as Forgive Me, Natasha. On April 22, 1970, <mask> attended a live televised major Communist party convention to celebrate the 100th birthday of Vladimir Lenin and honor the future leaders of the party. He was invited to receive an award which honored him as the Number-One Communist Youth of Kamchatka Province, for which he prepared and gave a fifteen-minute speech, which was broadcast nationwide. There he met Comrade Orlov, the party leader for Kamchatka. During the banquet following the convention, Orlov, drunk with vodka, invited him into the private dining room reserved for party leaders. What waited inside shocked <mask>.Inside he saw all sorts of expensive delicacies he did not expect to see and vodka "flowing like water," but more importantly, he witnessed the state of the party leaders—drunk, passed out, or drinking themselves to unconsciousness. Many of them had their faces in their food and one was lying on the food serving tray. Comrade Orlov had excused himself and when he came back, continued drinking. Soon, he began criticizing Joseph Stalin, Leonid Brezhnev, and eventually communism itself, at one point shouting that "Communism is the worst curse that has ever come to man!" This was a turning point in <mask>'s life. He later wrote that he had been a genuine and firm believer in communism. But after witnessing the hypocrisy of those top party leaders, his goal in life had changed: "From now on, there was only one goal: Get to the top!If the game was played by cynicism and ruthlessness, I'd play it that way." By mid-1970, <mask> was beginning to notice new patterns in the ways the Believers worshiped. Although they usually split into groups of around fifteen, they began meeting in groups of ten or less, which required <mask>'s group to perform more raids in order to

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 have as much of an effect on the Believers. He also began to notice an increase in Believers, which made it seem to him that the bigger the fight they put up, the larger they grew. Soon the group was operating on a tight schedule instead of just being called in whenever they were needed. Another trend he noticed was that may of the new Believers were young people, often as young as him. This made little sense to him, as he had a hard time understanding how Christianity could appeal to young people so much.With all of these operations occurring, news of the group began to spread throughout the public. Exposure to the Gospel of Luke
By July 1970, the group had accumulated many handwritten religious texts. On one particular day, the police captain Dimitri Nikiforov asked <mask> and Matveyev to go to the basement of the police station and burn some of the texts for heat. While Victor left to get some vodka for themselves, <mask> sat down there trying to figure out what "young people see in this trash." As he thought of Natasha, a sense of curiosity overcame him and he picked up a text, which happened to be an incomplete copy of the Gospel of Luke and began reading until Victor came back. <mask> later wrote in his autobiography about his experience when reading the book for the first time:

In late July 1970, <mask> was sent to Novosibirsk for military duty. Although he was to stay in Novosibirsk in case of a military emergency, he took a plane to Moscow to visit the tomb of Vladimir Lenin for the second time, hoping that being near his body would give him a sense of direction, something the corpse fell short on.Leaving the tomb that day, <mask> made his decision. He would leave Russia. He soon formulated a plan that would involve him swimming across the Tisza river to Hungary using an aqua-lung he acquired at a black market. He even went as far as obtaining Hungarian currency and making his way to the border, but after seeing the immense amount of security at the border, he quickly realized that it would be impossible. With his military leave ending, <mask> flew back to Petropavlovsk. Soon enough he was back to conducting raids against the Believers' meetings. He later wrote that because he was dissatisfied and ill at ease at the time, the last raids he led were the most vicious.During one particularly large raid, <mask> suddenly became emotionally grieved and left in the middle of the raid. On that day he decided to quit working for the KGB and from then on began giving excuses when told to gather up men to perform raids. Eventually he was relieved of his duties and continued as leader of the academy's Youth Organization. To persuade him to stay, Dimitri Nikiforov offered to place him in the Tomsk Academy, a well-known school for KGB agents. <mask> rejected it. In the Navy
In January 1971, <mask> graduated from the Petropavlovsk Naval Academy as a radio officer and was assigned to duty on a Soviet Navy destroyer. After more than a month on the destroyer, <mask> was sent back to the naval base for two weeks.There, he asked to be transferred to a ship near the United States coast, a request that was approved. On March 4, 1971, <mask> left the Soviet Union for the last time to board a Soviet submarine. A few months later on June 25, <mask> was transferred to the Soviet trawler Ivan Sereda, which was in need of a radio officer. On the Ivan Sereda, <mask> began making preparations to defect to America. He constructed a makeshift raft and hid food and water provisions for his escape. Soon the trawler was close enough to Los Angeles so that the city's lights could be seen on the horizon. Kourdakov planned escape that night, but had to perform one more shift as a radio officer before sunset.On that shift, he received a message that greatly hindered that plan. A fisherman named Simas Kudirka had jumped off from a Russian ship and made it to an American ship off the coast of New England (see The Kudirka incident). From that message, he learned that the United States government fully cooperated with the Soviet Union and handed him back to his home country, where he was sentenced to ten years in prison. Realizing the fate that could lie ahead of him if he chose to venture into America, he decided to try to escape to Canada instead. Defecting to Canada
A few weeks later, <mask> was transferred to another trawler, the Kolivan, which was traveling North towards the Canadian coast. While off the coast of Vancouver, he was again transferred to another ship, the Shturman Elagin, which was headed towards Amchitka Island. During his months at sea, <mask> often secretly listened to Russian broadcasts of Voice of America as well as religious broadcasts.He also spent many hours each day exercising in preparation of his escape. By late August 1971, the Elagin began heading back to the Canadian coast. A few days later, Kourdakov received a message saying that he was to be transferred to the Maria Ulyanova in five days, which would then head back to the Soviet Union. Desperately, <mask> tried thinking of a good escape strategy. During those five days, the ship encountered a severe storm, and the captain ordered him to radio Canadian authorities and request to enter Canadian waters in order to avoid the storm. <mask> quickly realized this would be his very last opportunity. On September 3, 1971, around 10 pm, Kourdakov plunged into Canadian waters.In the morning of the next day, <mask> was found staggering half-naked and bleeding onto the shores of Haida Gwaii by a woman living near the sea, who quickly called the hospital. Suffering from a cardiac irregularity, he wasn't sure at first whether he was back on a Soviet ship or in Canada. By the time he was at the hospital, he had entered a deep sleep. When he woke up, he was greeted by a translator. Later that day he was flown to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, where he stayed in the prison section of a hospital. Because no one in the hospital spoke Russian, he communicated in German. On one particular day, an immigration officer offered to give <mask> a tour of Prince Rupert.<mask> was so amazed with the city that he stated later that his "eyes almost popped out as I looked at the cars and nice homes. I guess I was staring at them." Being very skeptical, <mask> did not rule out the possibility of the trip being a propaganda tour. Just as Kourdakov began looking ahead to the bright future, he was given disturbing news that he might be handed back to the Soviet government. Canada was conducting trade agreement with the Soviet Union, and his staying there could hinder relations between the two countries. In addition, Soviet Union Premier Alexei Kosygin was visiting Canada and the government didn't want to offend him. He was subsequently flown to Vancouver and placed in the Vancouver Central Jail.Alone in his cell, <mask> began rethinking his decision to attempt to defect to Canada instead of America. He tried talking to God, although he felt embarrassed because he didn't know any prayers. In the middle of the night one day, <mask> was taken on a "tour of the city" which led him to an airport, where he was boarded on a plane that flew to Montreal. From there he was taken to a prison on an island on the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec City. This was done in preparation for potentially deporting <mask>, since a Russian liner was set to travel up the Saint Lawrence River and dock only a few hundred yards from the prison. As soon as <mask> was whisked away in the night, Canadian radio talk show host Pat Burns, who had taken interest in <mask> and had broadcast his case on the radio, was informed of all of this. While on the air, he called Member of Parliament Harold Edward Winch and explained <mask>'s situation.Subsequently, Winch demanded a public statement regarding Kourdakov from Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Soon enough, he was told he could stay in Canada permanently. Although he had to stay in jail for a few more weeks, he was released as soon as his documents were processed. Life in North America
While still in jail, <mask> received letters from people all over Canada who had heard his story. He was visited by many people, usually new friends and acquaintances. In addition, he was visited by representatives of the Russian embassy in Canada. They informed him that if he were to come back, they would forgive everything and give him his old position.As soon as he was released from jail, he had two main intentions: firstly to keep his promise to God and serve Him, and secondly to find a job and settle in Canada. Many people offered to help him, give him a job, or give him a place to live. The first church he went to was Saint Ann's Catholic Church in Quebec. Trying to do the same as others there, he knelt and began praying for three hours. When he went back to his place of residence, he received a message from someone seeking to hire him, and an address to reach him. He left a note to where he was going to his two Bulgarian friends and translators and went to the interview. But when he went to the address, he found out that it was a set-up and the members were part of the Front de libération du Québec, a nationalist and socialist revolutionary group responsible for hundreds of bombings, with strong Communist ties.According to <mask>, they warned him that if he would raise his voice one more time and say things he shouldn't, he would be silenced. As soon as his two friends found his note, they knew it was a trap and rushed there. With the strong presence of the FLQ in Quebec and the Russian embassy in Ottawa, <mask> decided to move to Toronto and stay with a Russian family who offered him a place to live. He began studying English at a university in the city. He also went to a church in Toronto which was always open for prayer, where he stayed for two days only praying and drinking water. <mask> also began attending Ukrainian churches in Toronto. With the aid of a pastor, he went through a religious conversion.One day the pastor gave him a small bible printed in Russian. Immediately, he recognized it as the same kind of bible he saw many times during raids in the Soviet Union. When he asked where it came from, the pastor told him that Underground Evangelism (now known as Mission Without Borders), a Californian organization that helped in the smuggling of Christian materials into the Soviet Union and other Communist countries. While leaving the subway station one day, <mask> sensed that he was being followed. When he turned around, he saw three powerfully built Russians who warned him saying, "If you know what is good for you, Kourdakov, you will keep silent and say nothing more. If you open your mouth, you will have a 'final accident.' Remember, you have been warned."He chose not to tell anyone about this at the time because he felt that because of the way he treated Christians in the Soviet Union, he owed it to them to speak out for them now. On May 1, 1972, Kourdakov joined Underground Evangelism and moved to California where he moved in with a family that had heard his story and offered him a place to stay. He spent his time traveling all over the United States speaking in schools, universities, and bible studies about his life and the state of Christian communities in the Soviet Union. He also spent much of his time making live radio broadcasts about Christianity and the evils of Communism in Russian, which were broadcast to the Soviet Union. While living in the United States, Kourdakov spent three weeks in The Pentagon demonstrating how Soviet submarines are made. Death
<mask>'s death had been dubbed as "strange and uncertain." Upon moving to California, Kourdakov moved in with a Christian family.Because he began making public appearances so often, he started worrying for his safety, so he began taking a revolver that belonged to the family's father with him whenever he traveled anywhere. To celebrate the New Year, <mask> went on vacation with Ann Johnson, the seventeen-year-old daughter of the family he was living with first to Disneyland, then to a ski lodge in Running Springs, California. On January 1, 1973, <mask> was found dead in his motel room in Running Springs, California, killed by a gunshot to the head. In his room was an unfinished typewritten paper (which he was preparing for Senator Strom Thurmond with regard to receiving permanent residency in the US), a champagne bottle, and the gun borrowed from the family's father. Due to the circumstances, <mask> was initially announced to have died by suicide. Many, notably Underground Evangelism founder and then-president L. Joe Bass, repudiated this claim. After a more thorough investigation, <mask>'s death was ruled an accident on March 1, 1973, stating that while <mask> was playing with his revolver, he probably accidentally shot himself.However, due to <mask>'s status as a former high-rank KGB agent who defected to North America and publicly opposed Communism, some believe that he was assassinated by another KGB member in order to silence him. <mask> himself had considered the possibility of an assassination attempt, hence the revolver, stating that he "was in the Soviet Intelligence. They do not warn twice", and that, if anything were ever to happen to him, "it would have all the appearances of an accident." L. Joe Bass was quoted on an Underground Evangelism newsletter saying that "What better than midnight on New Year's Eve, and what better place than that small, tourist-packed resort area for <mask> to have an 'accident'?" After his death, his body was sent to Washington, D.C. on January 10, 1973, where an English funeral service by Reverend Richard Halverson, a Presbyterian pastor, and a Russian service at a Russian Orthodox church were held. <mask> was buried in a Russian section of Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington, D.C., United States on January 11, 1973. His headstone gives the spelling of his name in Russian not as Курдаков but as Коурдаков.Subsequent controversy
<mask>'s death stirred up much controversy among Christian anti-communist organizations and elsewhere. Jesus to the Communist World general director Richard Wurmbrand, himself a former prisoner and torture victim in Soviet-controlled Romania, accused Underground Evangelism of exploiting the young defector. On January 4, he wrote an open letter to the organization stating that <mask> "should not have been brought on the stage [into publicity] with its perils before having been a member of a church growing in grace and knowledge." Andrew Semenchuk, the west coast representative of the Slavic Gospel Association stated that he and other Russian Baptist church members who heard <mask> speak at a Santa Ana felt that he "should not have been thrust into such a situation—speaking on subjects 'completely beyond him.'" Some of the criticism towards Underground Evangelism was its alleged exploitation of Kourdakov for profit. According to the Los Angeles Times, by 1973, the young Christian "had become the feature of the organization's literature." In addition to placing Kourdakov on a tour of over twenty speaking engagements during his short time in the organization, Underground Evangelism sold taped versions of his story priced at four dollars.Myrus Knutson, board chairman of Jesus to the Communist World, made a statement saying that "it may be unfair to say it, but they [Underground Evangelism] smelled money." There have also been some conflicting claims regarding <mask>'s actual religion. While <mask> identified himself as an Evangelical Christian during his time living in North America to the point of his death, Father Sergius Shukin, an Orthodox priest, claimed that during an interview <mask> revealed to him that he was an Orthodox Christian. This claim was first made public in The Orthodox Word nearly two years after <mask>'s death. Many claims of The Persecutor were debunked by Caroline Walker, a US Christian journalist, who attempted to document the story of <mask> in Russia. Her findings, contrary to her own expectations, revealed that the story was largely a fake. It looked like <mask> made up much of the story to earn political asylum in Canada.The documentary produced by Damian Wojciechowski about Walker's findings, Forgive Me, <mask> won numerous awards worldwide. See also

Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union
List of KGB defectors
List of Soviet and Eastern Bloc defectors
The Persecutor or Forgive Me, Natasha - by <mask>]

References

1951 births
1973 deaths
Soviet emigrants to Canada
Soviet emigrants to the United States
People of the KGB
Russian Christians
Christian writers
Soviet defectors
Deaths by firearm in California
Russian evangelicals
People from Novosibirsk
Soviet Navy personnel
Radio evangelists
Persecution of Christians in the Eastern Bloc
Christianity in the Soviet Union
Burials at Rock Creek

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<mask> (14 April 1935 – 29 August 2019) was an English author and television screenwriter, script editor and producer. In television, he had a long association with the BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who, working as a writer and also serving as the programme's script editor from 1968 to 1974. The Doctor Who News Page described him as "arguably the most prolific contributor to Doctor Who". He later became a script editor and producer of classic serials for the BBC. Dicks wrote many children's books during the 1970s and 1980s. He also maintained his association with Doctor Who by adapting televised stories into novelisations for Target Books and in later years contributing to many documentaries and DVD commentaries for the series. Early career
Born in East Ham, Essex (now part of Greater London), <mask> was the only son of William, a tailor's salesman and Nellie (née Ambler), a waitress.His parents later ran a pub, the Fox and Hounds, in Forest Gate. He excelled in English at East Ham Grammar School and consumed literature ranging from classics to pulp thrillers and adventure stories. He won a scholarship to study English at Downing College, Cambridge, and later performed two years of National Service in the British Army with the Royal Fusiliers. Following his discharge from the armed forces, he worked for five years as an advertising copywriter, and started to write radio play scripts for the BBC in his spare time. His breakthrough into television came when friend Malcolm Hulke, whom he met when he rented a room from him, asked for his help with the scripting of "The Mauritius Penny", an episode of the second series of ABC action-adventure The Avengers, for which <mask> was awarded a co-writer's credit. <mask> went on to co-write a further two Avengers episodes with Hulke: the second, "Intercrime", was later re-worked for the sixth and final series. Doctor Who
In 1968, <mask> was hired as assistant script editor on the BBC science-fiction TV series Doctor Who.He was appointed head script editor the following year and earned his first writing credit for the programme when he and Hulke co-wrote the 10-part serial The War Games, which concluded the series' sixth season and the Second Doctor's (Patrick Troughton) tenure. The serial introduced the concept of the Time Lords and initiated the Doctor's exile to Earth, which would be a major theme of the Third Doctor's tenure. <mask> had, however, been the uncredited co-writer of the earlier serial The Seeds of Death (1969), having extensively re-written Brian Hayles' original scripts. <mask> formed a highly productive working relationship with incoming Doctor Who producer Barry Letts, serving as script editor on all of Letts's five seasons as series producer from 1970 to 1974. During his tenure as script editor on Doctor Who, <mask> oversaw a number of additions to the program's mythology that still exist in the modern era including the following:

 The development of the Time Lords and their society. The name Gallifrey (augmented from Doctor Who writer Robert Holmes' "Galfrey"). The creation of companions Liz Shaw, Jo Grant, and Sarah Jane Smith.The term "regeneration". (Planet of the Spiders)
 Sontarans (from writer Robert Holmes). The Dematerialisation Circuit is vital for the operation of the TARDIS. The concept that the TARDIS is indestructible. The TARDIS can be remote controlled. The TARDIS has a Telepathic Circuit (in The Time Monster)
 The TARDIS might be sentient (The Time Monster and Planet of the Spiders)
 The Blinovitch Limitation Effect used as a plot device to explain away paradoxes. (Day of the Daleks)
 Multi-Doctor stories.(The Three Doctors)

During <mask>' tenure, the program also delved into social and political concepts. Sometimes these were straightforward and other times they were metaphors. Concepts and topics included the respect for all life (The Silurians), Great Britain joining the European Economic Community (in metaphor in The Curse of Peladon), apartheid (The Mutants), global pollution (The Green Death) and equality for women (with the inclusion of Sarah Jane Smith as companion). In 1972, <mask> embarked on a parallel career as an author with the publication of his first book, The Making of Doctor Who (a history of the production of the TV series), which was co-written by Hulke. After stepping down as script editor, <mask> continued his association with Doctor Who, writing four scripts for his successor, Robert Holmes: these were Robot (1975, Tom Baker's first outing as the Fourth Doctor), The Brain of Morbius (1976, for which <mask> was credited under the pseudonym Robin Bland after his displeasure at Holmes' re-writes prompted him to request that it be shown "under some bland pseudonym"), Horror of Fang Rock (1977) and State of Decay (1980). State of Decay was in fact a re-written version of a story originally titled The Vampire Mutations, which had been due for production during season 15 until the BBC decided that the vampiric theme would clash with the plot of its new adaptation of Bram Stoker's Count Dracula, which was due for transmission at roughly the same time, and replaced it with Horror of Fang Rock. His final Doctor Who script was The Five Doctors (1983), a feature-length episode for the programme's 20th anniversary.His other work for Doctor Who included two stage plays, Doctor Who and the Daleks in the Seven Keys to Doomsday (1974) and Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure (1989), and an audio drama for Big Finish Productions titled Comeback (2002), which was the first to feature former Doctor's companion Sarah Jane Smith in a significant capacity. He went on to contribute several additional scripts to Big Finish including audio adaptations of his two-stage plays, a Sixth Doctor-era story for the "Companion Chronicle" range, and a Bernice Summerfield story, in 2011, which was the final script of his career. The first serial aired after his death, the 2020 Thirteenth Doctor-era story "Spyfall", was dedicated to him. Books
Dicks contributed heavily to Target Books' series of novelisations of the Doctor Who TV serials, writing 67 of the titles published by the company. As Dicks explains in an interview in the documentary Built for War (included on the 2006 DVD release of The Sontaran Experiment), he served as the unofficial editor of the Target Books range. In this role, he would attempt to enlist the author of the original scripts to write the novelisation whenever possible, but if they refused or had other commitments, Dicks would usually undertake the work himself (although he also recruited other writers, including former Doctor Who actor Ian Marter and former series producer Philip Hinchcliffe). On one occasion, he enlisted Robert Holmes to novelise his script for The Time Warrior, but when Holmes gave up after writing only one chapter, it was left to Dicks to complete the work.<mask> would have better success in recruiting the original writers for the later Doctor Who serials, and was required to adapt only one Sixth Doctor story himself (The Mysterious Planet; he again replaced Holmes, who had died in 1986). <mask>' name appears on the cover of no Seventh Doctor novelisations. His plans to publish a novelisation of his stage play Doctor Who - The Ultimate Adventure were not realised. As of September, 1980, <mask> <mask>' Doctor Who novelisations had sold three-and-a-half million copies and had been translated into ten different languages. During the 1990s, <mask> contributed to Virgin Publishing's line of full-length, officially licensed, original Doctor Who novels, New Adventures, which continued the series' storyline following the TV cancellation in 1989. <mask> wrote three Doctor Who novels for Virgin, and continued to write occasionally for the franchise after BBC Books assumed the licence in 1997. He wrote the first of the Eighth Doctor Adventures, titled The Eight Doctors, which was, for a time, the best-selling original Doctor Who novel.World Game, featuring the Second Doctor, is set during the so-called "Season 6B". Later contributions to the range were the Quick Reads books Made of Steel and Revenge of the Judoon, both featuring the Tenth Doctor and Martha Jones. His final Doctor Who short story, "Save Yourself", was published posthumously by BBC Books in October 2019. A compilation of his work chosen by fans entitled The Essential <mask> Dicks Volumes 1 & 2 was published in August 2021. Other television work
<mask> also wrote for the ATV soap opera Crossroads. He co-created and wrote for the short-lived BBC science-fiction TV series Moonbase 3 (1973), and wrote for the ITC science-fiction series Space: 1999 (1976). During the early 1980s, <mask> served once more as script editor to producer Barry Letts on the BBC's Sunday Classics strand of period dramas and literary adaptations.When Letts returned to directing in 1985, <mask> succeeded him as the producer of the Sunday Classics, overseeing productions such as Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Vanity Fair, before retiring from the BBC in 1988 to resume his career as a novelist. Children's fiction and non-fiction
It was through his work on Doctor Who books that <mask> became a writer of children's fiction, penning many successful titles during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1976, he wrote a trilogy for Target Books, The Mounties, concerning a Royal Canadian Mounted Police recruit. They were followed from 1979 to 1983 another trilogy, Star Quest, which was later re-printed by Big Finish Productions. Beginning in 1978, <mask> penned The Baker Street Irregulars inspired by the Sherlock Holmes characters; the series eventually ran to 10 books, the last published in 1987. In 1981, he commenced work on a series of six children's horror novels with Cry Vampire. In 1987, <mask> started a new series for very young children titled T. R. Bear, resulting in a further seven books.There followed the Sally Ann series, about a ragdoll, Magnificent Max, about a cat, and The Adventures of Goliath (Dicks' longest series, at 18 books), about a golden retriever. Another five books concerning a St. Bernard dog make up the Harvey series. Jonathan's Ghost and its three sequels were published in 1988, and the three-part MacMagic series followed in 1990. The Littlest Dinosaur was published in 1993 and The Littlest on Guard in 1994. Other works that Dicks published in 1994 include Woof! The Never Ending Tale, the Cold Blood series and the Chronicles of a Computer Game Addict series (both in four parts). Between 1998 and 2000, Dicks penned Changing Universe trilogy.In 2000 and 2001, Dicks produced the 12-book series, The Unexplained. As well as his numerous fictional works, <mask> also penned several non-fiction books for children, including Europe United, A Riot of Writers, Uproar in the House, A Right Royal History and The Good, the Bad and the Ghastly. Personal life
<mask> lived in Hampstead, London. In 1963, he married Elsa (née Germaney), a teacher and later a Quaker recording clerk. They had three sons: Stephen, Jonathan and Oliver. <mask> died in London on 29 August 2019 after a short illness. Bibliography
Great March West (1976)
Massacre in the Hills (1976)
War Drums of the Blackfoot (1976)
The Case of the Missing Masterpiece (1978)
Spacejack (1978)
The Case of the Blackmail Boys (1979)
Roboworld (1979)
The Case of the Cinema Swindle (1980)
The Case of the Crooked Kids (1980)
The Case of the Ghost Grabbers (1980)
Cry Vampire!(1981)
The Case of the Cop Catchers (1981)
Terrorsaur! (1981)
Ask Oliver (1982)
Marvin's Monster (1982)
Wereboy! (1982)
The Mystery of the Missing Diamond (1983)
Demon of the Dark (1983)
The Fireworks Mystery (1984)
The Mystery of the Missing Train (1984)
Goliath and the Dognappers (1984)
Ghosts of Gallows Cross (1984)
Gupta's Christmas (1985)
Goliath on Holiday (1985)
Goliath at the Dog Show (1986)
Goliath's Christmas (1986)
T.R. Afloat (1986)
T.R. 's Hallowe'en (1986)
In the Money (1986)
The Disappearing Diplomat (1986)
The Case of the Fagin File (1987)
Goliath and the Burglar (1987)
Goliath and the Buried Treasure (1987)
Goliath Goes to Summer School (1987)
Goliath on Vacation (1987)
Goliath's Easter Parade (1987)
Goliath at the Seaside (1988)
T.R's Big Game (1987)
T.R. 's Festival (1987)
Sally Ann, on Her Own (1987)
By the Sea (1987)
School Fair (1987)
The Criminal Computer (1988)
The Haunted Holiday (1988)
Goliath Cub Scouts (1989)
Enter T.R. (1988)
T.R.Bear: Enter T.R., T.R. Goes to School, T.R. 's Day Out, T.R. 's Halloween (1988)
T.R. Goes Skiing (1988)
T.R. Goes to Hollywood (1988)
T.R. Goes to School (1988)
T.R.'s Day Out (1988)
The Picnic (1988)
Sally Ann Goes to Hospital (1988)
Sally Ann's School Play (1988)
In Trouble (1988)
A New Beginning (1988)
Goliath's Sports Day (1989)
T.R. Down Under (1989)
T.R. in New York (1989)
At the Ballet (1989)
The River Rats (1989)
The School Spirit (1989)
Spitfire Summer (1989)
Magnificent Max (1989)
Goliath and the Cub Scouts (1990)
Goliath's Birthday (1990)
Teacher's Pet (1990)
T.R. Bear at the Zoo (1990)
The Pony (1990)
Majestic Max (1990)
Max and the Quiz Kids (1990)
Meet the MacMagics (1990)
My Brother the Vampire (1990)
Lost Property (1990)
Prisoners of War (1990)
The Winjin' Pom (1991)
The Big Match (1991)
Goliath Gets a Job (1991)
Jonathan and the Superstar (1991)
Jonathan's Ghost (1991)
Max's Amazing Summer (1991)
A Spell for My Sister (1991)
George and the Dragon (1991)
What's Going On William (1991)
The Comic Capers (1992)
Sally Ann and the School Show (1992)
Max and the Cat Burglar (1992)
Max and the Missing Megastar (1992)
Steaming Sam (1992)
Knightschool (1992)
War of the Witches (1992)
On Their Own (1993)
Goliath and the School Bully (1993)
Sally Ann and the Mystery Picnic (1993)
Max's Old-fashioned Christmas (1993)
The Littlest Dinosaur (1993)
Nurse Sally Ann (1994)
The Ultimate Game (1994)
Killing Time: Cold Blood 2 (1994)
Littlest on Guard (1994)
Cyberspace Adventure (1994)
Woof! Several of his novels were subsequently re-printed in omnibus editions, such as The Adventures of Doctor Who and The Dalek Omnibus. In the late 1980s, Star Books issued "2-in-1" collections of selected Target Books novelisations, which included several of Dicks' works.

masks:
Terrance William Dicks
Dicks
Dicks
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<mask> (born May 22, 1967) is an American recording artist, Top 5 Billboard dance chart songwriter, and Platinum record producer, best known as producer for numerous artists such as Blondie, Rufus Wainwright, Franz Ferdinand (band), LP, Asia Kate Dillon and as an ASCAP-featured film score composer. Early life and music
<mask>, the child of James and <mask>, was born May 22, 1967 in Schenectady, New York and has two brothers, James Jr. and Shawn. After beginning piano at age 7 and saxophone at age 9, <mask> joined their first punk band as a drummer at age 14. They bought their first guitar for $15.00 at the age of 17 and moved to New York City later that year to pursue a career in music. Career
In 1985, they played their first NYC show at CBGB and became a regular onstage at many East Village venues of the era such as Danceteria, The Ritz, Pyramid Club, and Limelight. While still a teenager <mask> was already playing sax with punk legends Sylvain Sylvain, Johnny Thunders and Cherry Vanilla. In 1987, they joined the band 'Gutterboy' as a saxophone player, guitarist and back up singer.'Gutterboy', fronted by writer/director Dito Montiel, toured with Bryan Adams, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Stray Cats and Ramones. They were signed to Mercury Records in 1989, released "St. Stanislaus of E. 7th St." and modeled for photographer Bruce Weber's Gianni Versace catalog. In 1992, they left Gutterboy to start the band  "Itchy Trigger Finger" with longtime friend Harry Nagle. In Itchy Trigger Finger they toured on Lollapalooza along with Sonic Youth, Hole, Sinéad O'Connor, Cypress Hill, Moby, Beck, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Coolio, yo la tengo, The Roots and Patti Smith. From 1995–1998, they were also the sax player and guitarist for the Squeeze box house band at Don Hill's, sharing that stage with Green Day, Deborah Harry, Joey Arias, Lady Bunny, John Cameron Mitchell, Nina Hagen, The Runaways, Justin Bond and Jayne County. In 2000, <mask> scored their first film, The Safety of Objects starring Glenn Close. They also wrote a song titled "Kiss It All Goodbye" for the movie with LP, and later that year co-wrote and produced three songs, including the title track, for L.P.'s debut album Heart-Shaped Scar.That same year, <mask> also joined Antony and the Johnsons as a clarinet player and saxophonist. In 2001 <mask> began producing a number of bands who had contributed to the film's soundtrack. <mask> spent 2000–2006 co-producing and scoring films with teams such as Emboznik, 'Sonic & Buzz' and Blizzard Twins. For a detailed film score discography see the Film Scores discography section. From 2000–2012 <mask> made up half of the record production duo Super Buddha. In 2005, <mask> received their first Gold Record for producing the song 'In the Flesh' for Blondie's album Sight & Sound, and also collaborated with Grammy Award winner Pink on the video for the song Hello Bonjour. In 2006, <mask> co-wrote the Top 5 Billboard dance chart remix 'Two Times Blue: Debbie Harry vs.Soul Seekerz' and the song If I Had You, which was featured regularly on VH-1. In 2011, <mask> co-wrote three songs on Blondie's Panic of Girls album as well as contributing production to releases by Franz Ferdinand and Lily Allen. In 2012, <mask> left Super Buddha to pursue a solo career. Their first endeavor was writing and producing 3 songs for Blondie: Dead Air, Bride of Infinity and Practice Makes Perfect. That same year they composed the film score for the movie Concussion, starring Robin Weigert and Maggie Siff, an official selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and winner of the Berlin Film Festival's Teddy Award Jury Prize. Also that year, <mask> mixed the album Black Tie Elevator for The Cliks. 2013-present

Music that <mask> produced for Rayya Elias' book Harley Loco was presented by author Elizabeth Gilbert at the Detroit Institute of Arts, following the release of the book and accompanying soundtrack by Viking Press.'Harley Loco' and Blue Microphones also released a mini-documentary about <mask>'s work as a music producer called "Harley Loco and Blue Microphones present <mask> <mask>". In 2014, <mask> produced records for various artists including Rachael Sage, Miranda Di Perno, Princess Superstar, Carrie Ashley Hill and composed scores for the films Sidewalk Traffic, 'FAST'  and Ma/ddy. They also spoke on the Gender Amplified panel at Barnard College, and they were a featured film score composer on ASCAP's 2014 "Spotlight"

In 2015, <mask> produced records and film scores for various projects such as Sugar on PBS and Paper Mills as well as performed at the Carlyle with Debbie Harry. They were also featured in The NY Times in an article about producing transgender artists. In 2016, <mask> produced the album "Shine" by Ryan Cassata as well as "Take My Shoulder" by Venus DeMars and Laura Jane Grace. In 2017, <mask> received their first Platinum Records for producing the song 'In the Flesh' for Blondie's album Sight & Sound. They also produced Gina Volpe's (founding member of the legendary punk band Lunachicks) solo album "Different Animal".In 2018, <mask> composed the score for the documentary "Cherry Grove Stories"

In 2019, <mask> produced the second solo record by Gina Volpe which Rolling Stone Magazine called "modern angst via detuned metal guitars and rattling 808 beats" . Currently
<mask> is currently producing records and film scores in their NYC studio. Recent projects include upcoming collaborations with Grammy-nominated mixers Tony Maserati and Dylan Dresdow as well as the debut EP by Asia Kate Dillon Asia Kate Dillon'Handsome Hands'

<mask> is endorsed by TubeTech, Sugar Bytes, Blue Microphones, Namba Gear, DrumCore, Earthquaker Devices, D'Angelico Guitars and Gibson Guitars. Personal life
<mask> identifies as non binary Non-binary gender and lives in Frenchtown, New Jersey and Los Angeles with their wife Jaime Karpovich  and their two cats "Sunny" and "Rocky". Discography

Albums
 Gutterboy, Geffen Records. (1989, 1992) (Saxophone, vocals)
 Gutterboy, St. Stanislaus of East Seventh, Mercury Records. (1991) (Saxophone, Vocals, Guitar)
 Antony and the Johnsons: Immortal Bird / Cripple and the Starfish, Durtro.(2000) (Clarinet, Saxophone)
 LP (singer): Heart-Shaped Scar Koch Records (2001) (Producer, Songwriter)
 Rufus Wainwright: Wig in a Box, Off Records. (2003) (Producer)
 Blondie: Greatest Hits: Sight & Sound, EMI. (2005) (Producer)
 Scissor Sisters: Filthy/Gorgeous (ATOC vs. Superbuddha remix), A Touch of Class. (2005) (Remixer)
 Deborah Harry: Necessary Evil, Eleven Seven. (2007) (Producer, Songwriter)
 Franz Ferdinand (band): Covers (Franz Ferdinand EP), Domino Recording Company (2011) (Producer)
 Blondie: Panic of Girls, Eleven Seven/EMI. (2011) (Songwriter)
 The Cliks: Black Tie Elevator. (2013) (Mixer)
 Ryan Cassata: Shine.(2016) (Producer)
 Gina Volpe: Different Animal (2017) (Producer)
 Gina Volpe]: Winter to Spring Singles (2019) (Producer)
 Asia Kate Dillon: Handsome Hands (2020) (Producer)

Film scores
 The Coolest Year in Hell- Scored this 2007 Emmy-nominated documentary for VH-1. (Credited as Emboznik)
 Joan of Arcadia- Source music for episode #114 of this CBS primetime series' 2004 season. (Credited as Sean Demis & <mask>)
 'Til Death Do Us Part: Carmen and Dave- Sound chip for promotional ad, Cannes Film Festival 2004 for MTV Networks and International Agency: Kidvertisers. (Credited as <mask> <mask>)
 The safety of objects- Full score, all source music, incidentals and trailer for this feature film starring Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney, Patricia Clarkson, Joshua Jackson and directed by Rose Troche. Released in March 2003. (Credited as Emboznik, Bullet, Super Buddha, Itchy Trigger Finger)
 Rosa negra 2: Como corre el amor- Score (2004) (Credited as Emboznik, Blizzard Twins, Sonic & Buzz)
 The l word – Full musical score for the creation of the pilot of this Showtime original series starring Jennifer Beals and Pam Grier. Directed by Rose Troche.(Credited as Emboznik)
 Raising Victor Vargas – Hip hop source cue for this feature film directed by Peter Sollett. Sundance Film Festival choice award, one of IFC's 'Top 10 to Watch For in 2003.' Released March 30, 2003. (Credited as Sonic & Buzz)
 Choices: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly- Full musical score of this short film directed by Tamara Jenkins (writer/director, Slums of Beverly Hills) and Scenarios USA. Released on Showtime in December 2003. (Credited as Sonic & Buzz)
 G- Hip Hop source cue. A feature film by Andrew Lauren, starring Blair Underwood (Sex & the City) and released in September 2004 (Credited as Sonic & Buzz)
 A-List- Full musical score for this feature film directed by Shira Lee Shalit starring Sally Kirkland (Bruce Almighty), Daphne Zuniga (Melrose Place) and David Carradine.Release for spring 2005 (Credited as Emboznik & Sean Semis and <mask>)
 David Searching- Opening credits & source cue for this feature film starring Anthony Rapp (Rent). Directed by Leslie Smith, released in 1999. (Credited as Itchy Trigger Finger)
 Rufus Wainwright- Produced song 'The Origin of Love' for tribute CD for the movie Hedwig and the Angry Inch, released in September 2003. Featured in Rainlake Production's documentary of the making of 'Wig in a box' (Credited as <mask> <mask>)
 Toothpaste (film) (Scenarios USA)- Full musical score for this short film directed by Ben Younger (Boiler Room), shot by Guillermo Navarro (Hellboy) and produced by Michael Waxman (Collateral). Released for Showtime Spring 2005 (Credited as Emboznik)
 The Buddy Baker ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop.- Composed for and conducted a 20-piece orchestra including members of the New York Philharmonic and Metropolitan Opera. Moderated by Mark Snow (The X-Files) and Marco Beltrami (Blade II and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines). (Credited as Emboznik)
 Concussion – Full musical score for this feature film directed by Stacie Passon and produced by Rose Troche, starring Robin Weigert and Maggie Siff.(Credited as <mask> <mask>)
 Elliot King is Third – Full musical score for this short film directed by Rose Troche and produced by Stacie Passon. (Credited as <mask> <mask>)
 Sidewalk Traffic - Full musical score for this film directed by Anthony Fisher and starring Heather Matarazzo and Kurt Loder
 FAST - Full musical score for this short film directed by Melanie Vesey. Ma/ddy - Full musical score for this film directed by Devon Kirkpatrick starring Clea DuVall and Mel Shimkovitz
Sugar - Full musical score and source music for this series on PBS, directed by Rose Troche
 Cherry Grove Stories - Full musical score and source music for the documentary directed by Michael Fisher

References

External links
 super buddha Web Site
 New York Times Debbie Harry Article
 Debbie Harry Concert Review
 Interview with Debbie Harry, 'Necessary Evil'
 <mask> <mask>: On Being a Trans Music Producer

1967 births
Living people
People from Frenchtown, New Jersey
People from Schenectady, New York
American women singer-songwriters
American women rock singers
American rock songwriters
Record producers from New York (state)
Singer-songwriters from New Jersey
Singer-songwriters from New York (state)
American women record producers
21st-century American women
Non-binary musicians

masks:
Barb Morrison
Barb Morrison
Helen Morrison
Barb
Morrison
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Morrison
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Morrison
Barb
Morrison
Morrison
Barb
Morrison
Barb
Barb
Morrison
Morrison
Morrison
Morrison
Morrison
Morrison
Morrison
Morrison
Morrison
Morrison
Buzz Morrison
Barb
Morrison
Buzz Morrison
Barb
Morrison
Barb
Morrison
Barb
Morrison
Barb
Morrison


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<mask> (born November 10, 1972) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) and a member of the 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 1994 NFL Draft after playing college football for the University of Memphis. He is currently the athletic director of the University of Fort Lauderdale, a Christian college with HBCU roots. An All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowl selection, <mask> amassed 15,208 receiving yards in his career (fifth all-time). He played the first 14 years with the Rams and won a Super Bowl ring with the team in Super Bowl XXXIV over the Tennessee Titans. He also played for the San Francisco 49ers. During his time with the Rams, he was the leading wide receiver of "The Greatest Show on Turf".In 2020, <mask> was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Early years
<mask> was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He graduated from Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale in 1990. As a senior for the Panthers football team, he caught 39 passes for 644 yards (16.5 yards per rec. avg. ), was an All-County selection, and led his team to the 1989 Florida State 4-A Championship. College career
<mask> originally signed his letter of intent to play college football for the Purdue Boilermakers in 1990, but his SAT scores were too low for Purdue to accept him.<mask> then decided to attend West Los Angeles College, then to Santa Monica College before transferring to the Memphis State University. In 1992, <mask>'s first year with Memphis, he had 39 receptions for 532 yards and five touchdowns. In 1993, he became the first wide receiver in program history to post a 1,000-yard receiving season. He finished the season with a school-record 74 catches for 1,054 yards and 10 touchdowns. He earned a degree from Memphis in physical education, and he is the only Memphis player to be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. College statistics

Professional career

Los Angeles Rams
<mask> was drafted in the 2nd round (33rd overall) by the Los Angeles Rams. He signed a 3-year, $1.75 million contract with the Rams on July 14, 1994.He earned the 1994 Carroll Rosenbloom Award, given to the team rookie of the year. He was also voted Rams Rookie of the Year by Orange County Sports Association and the Southern California Sports Broadcasters Association. His first NFL reception was a 34-yard touchdown throw from Chris Miller at Atlanta on September 11, 1994. St. Louis Rams
He moved with the team to St. Louis in 1995. In 1995, <mask> was named the NFC's week 1 Special Teams player of the Week after blocking a punt that contributed to a Rams win. He was also the NFC Offensive Player of the Week for week 6 following a 10-catch, 191 yard, 2 TD performance. His total receiving yards for 1995 (119 catches for 1,781 yards) was second only to Jerry Rice’s then record of 1,848 yards for one season, and is still the fifth most in a single season.In accomplishing this feat, <mask> surpassed former Houston Oilers WR Charley Hennigan’s 34-year-old record of 1,746 set in 1961. <mask>’s 119 catches also ranks 12th on the NFL’s all-time single-season reception list. <mask> further broke four Rams’ records, including most receiving yards, most receptions, most consecutive 100-yard receiving games (6) and most 100-yard games (9). <mask> made USA Today’s All-Joe team, All-Madden, and All-Pro by Sports Illustrated and he was voted a first alternate to the Pro Bowl. He was also awarded the Rams MVP. In 1996, <mask> led his team with 84 receptions and led the NFL with 1,338 yards. He became the first Rams receiver since Henry Ellard in 1990 and 1991 to post back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons.Against the Baltimore Ravens on October 27, 1996, he caught 11 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown. On November 30, 1996, <mask> was re-signed by the Rams to a 4-year $12.1 million contract extension. In 1996 <mask> was also voted to his first Pro Bowl, after having been an alternate the season before. In the following seasons, <mask> was hampered by hamstring injuries. In 1997, he missed the first six games due to injury and in 1998 he missed the final nine games (he also missed two other games earlier in the season). In Atlanta on November 2, 1997, <mask> had another 200-yard game, totaling 10 catches, 233 yards and recording 2 touchdowns. Prior to his injury in 1998 in a home game against the Minnesota Vikings, <mask> had 11 catches for 192 yards and an 80-yard touchdown.In 1999, <mask> was a Second-team All-Pro and was voted to his second Pro Bowl. He caught 77 passes for 1,165 yards and 12 touchdowns as Rams had a 13–3 record and advanced to the Super Bowl. He also led Rams in receiving yards in the playoffs, with 317 yards on 13 catches with a team-high two touchdowns. <mask> caught Kurt Warner’s 73-yard touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XXXIV to give the Rams a 23–16 lead, which turned out to be the game winner. Prior to the 2000 season, <mask> was re-signed by the Rams to a 7-year, $42 million contract extension. In 2000, <mask> was again a Pro Bowler and caught 87 passes for 1,471 yards and 9 touchdowns. He became the first Rams receiver to earn back-to-back Pro Bowl invitations since Henry Ellard accomplished the feat for the 1988 and 1989 seasons.<mask> either led or was tied for the most receptions six times in 2000, led the team in receiving yards six times, and posted four 100-yard receiving games. That same year, <mask> and teammate Torry Holt became only the second WR duo from the same team to each gain over 1,400 yards in the same season (see Herman Moore and Brett Perriman). In 2001, the Rams returned to the Super Bowl, losing to the New England Patriots, and <mask> made the Pro Bowl for the fourth time, becoming only the third receiver in franchise history to earn three consecutive Pro Bowl invitations (Elroy Hirsch 1951–53, Jim Phillips 1960–62). <mask> was voted offensive captain and became the franchise career leader in 100-yard receiving games (29), 1,000-yard seasons (5), and receiving touchdowns (56). He became just the second player in team history to post 500 career receptions vs. New York Giants on October 14, 2001. He caught five passes for 56 yards against New England in Super Bowl XXXVI. <mask> became the Rams’ all-time leader in receptions in 2002 while posting his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season.That year, he led the team with seven touchdown receptions, and ended the season with 79 receptions for 1,075 yards. On his 30th birthday, <mask> had three fumbles in a game. Luckily for <mask>, he scored a game-winning touchdown and the game is almost forgotten because of 34–34 tie between the Falcons and Steelers the same day. In 2003, <mask> missed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time since 1998, finishing with 69 catches for 981 yards and 5 touchdowns, however, he became the Rams’ all-time leader in receiving yards (10,461), passing his position coach Henry Ellard (9,761). That year <mask> made seven receptions for 116 yards in the NFC Divisional Playoff Game vs. Carolina on January 10, 2004, making him the only Rams player to have four career 100-yard postseason performances, breaking a tie with Tom Fears. In 2004, <mask> caught 89 passes (fifth in the NFC, eighth in the NFL) for 1,292 yards (fifth in the NFL). He started the season with four consecutive 100-yard receiving performances, the first player to accomplish this feat since Houston's Charley Hennigan in 1963.<mask> nabbed a team-high nine catches for 170 yards and one touchdown at Green Bay on November 29, 2004. With the retirement of Jerry Rice, <mask> entered 2005 as the NFL's active leader in career receiving yards; a foot injury caused him to miss 5 games, and he was passed by Marvin Harrison by the end of the season. Still, he became the 14th player in NFL history with 800 career receptions on December 11 at Minnesota. On March 7, 2006, the Rams released <mask> rather than pay him a $1.5 million bonus; however, five days after releasing him, the Rams agreed to a three-year, $15 million deal with <mask>. The re-signing freed a reported $7.5 million in cap money for the Rams. That season <mask> started 15 of 16 games and notched his eighth career 1,000-yard receiving season with 1,098 yards on 74 catches with three touchdowns. In 2007, <mask> caught 55 passes for 733 yards and 4 touchdowns, second on his team only to Torry Holt in all three categories.In Week 15, he retook the lead in career receiving yards among active players from Marvin Harrison, and in the same game passed James Lofton to become third on the all-time list. On February 28, 2008, <mask> was released by the Rams after refusing to take a pay cut, which the Rams promised they would not do in a previous contract renegotiation. San Francisco 49ers

On February 29, 2008, <mask> signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the San Francisco 49ers, to reunite with his former offensive coordinator Mike Martz. Jerry Rice gave <mask> permission to wear the number 80 although the team had already retired it, however <mask> decided against it and instead wore 88. On December 21, 2008, in a game at St. Louis against his former team, the Rams, <mask> caught his 1,000th career reception – a 3-yard touchdown catch. St. Louis fans cheered on their former wide receiver, yelling “Bruuuuuuuuce” whenever he caught a pass, and cheered when he caught his 1,000th pass. After contemplating retirement in the offseason, he elected to return to the 49ers in 2009 for his 16th season, reasoning that he was there to "get in the playoffs again and win a Super Bowl".On June 7, 2010, <mask> was traded from the 49ers to the Rams so that he would be able to retire as a Ram. <mask> was the last member of the former first-tenure Los Angeles Rams to retire. NFL career statistics

Regular season

Awards and achievements
2020 - Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 2009 – Second wide receiver in NFL history to achieve more than 15,000 receiving yards. 2008 – Reaches 1,000 receptions with a touchdown against his former team the St. Louis Rams. Surpassed Tim Brown to become 2nd all-time in receiving yards with 14,944 receiving yards. 2007 – Achieved 14,109 receiving yards and 942 receptions, putting him at 6th place for all-time receptions and 3rd for total yardage.He is also 13th all-time in receiving touchdowns with 84. 2006 – National Sportsmanship Award
2003 – Sports Personality of the Year Award from the Missouri Athletic Club at the annual Jack Buck Sports Award Banquet
2001 – Named to play in Pro Bowl (did not play – injured)
2000 – Named to play in Pro Bowl (did not play – injured)
1999 – Super Bowl XXXIV champion
1999 – Named to play in Pro Bowl
1998 – Rams Sprint Good Sport/Man of the Year
1997 – Rams True Value Man of the Year
1996 – Named to play in Pro Bowl, led league in receiving yards
1995 – Recorded 119 receptions (Most in NFL history by a player 25 and under, voted a Pro Bowl alternate)
1994 – Rams consensus Rookie of the Year

Personal life
<mask> is a Christian. <mask> is nicknamed “The Reverend” because he wishes to become one after he finishes his football career; he also wants to become a substitute teacher. <mask> is married to Clegzette <mask>. They have two daughters. <mask> is the elder cousin of Canadian Football League wide receiver Arland <mask>. <mask> is the younger cousin of NFL running back Derrick Moore.<mask> is a member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. Philanthropy
Since 1996, <mask> has provided tickets to home games to various schools and youth organizations, including partnering with Haz-Waste to provide jerseys and limousine rides for children. He was a United Way spokesman in 1996–97 and United Way African American Leadership Giver from 1997 to 1999. In 2008, he recorded a public service announcement and personal voice message for the RESPECT! Campaign against domestic violence. References

External links

 The Isaac Bruce Foundation

1972 births
Living people
American football wide receivers
Memphis Tigers football players
Los Angeles Rams players
San Francisco 49ers players
Santa Monica Corsairs football players
St. Louis Rams players
National Conference Pro Bowl players
Players of American football from Fort Lauderdale, Florida
African-American Christians
American Pentecostals
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
10,000 receiving yards club
National Football League players with retired numbers

masks:
Isaac Isidore Bruce
Bruce
Bruce
Bruce
Bruce
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Isaac Bruce
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Isaac Bruce


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<mask> (1430-1485) was a Breton politician who became the principal adviser and chief minister to Francis II, Duke of Brittany. Francis left <mask> in control of the affairs of the duchy, producing resentment among local barons, who finally secured the overthrow of Landais' régime. The rise and fall of Landais undermined Francis' position and prepared the way for the annexation of Brittany by France. <mask> is also important for the key role he played during attempts by the Yorkist kings of England to extradite the leading Lancastrian contender for the English throne, Henry Tudor, who was living in Brittany with his principal supporters. Initially a supporter of Henry, he later turned against him. Biography

Early career
<mask> was the son of rich clothiers from Vitré. He entered the service of Duke as a valet de garde-robe.His ambition and acumen soon brought him favour with Francis, and he rose to become Treasurer and Receiver General of Brittany. He promoted the interests of the bourgeoisie, and encouraged trade and enterprise. <mask> soon came into conflict with Guillaume Chauvin, who was chancellor of Brittany, and who resented <mask>' influence over the duke. In 1477, his rivalry with Chauvin reached a head. <mask> managed to ensure Chauvin's arrest and dismissal on corruption charges, securing his own position as de facto prime minister under Francis. During this period he encouraged the expansion of the University of Nantes, founded by duke Francis in 1460. Régime
All-powerful between 1481 and 1485, he strove to defend the independence of the duchy against the machinations of Louis XI, the King of France, engaging in secret negotiations with King Edward IV of England.<mask> also negotiated trade agreements with Spain, Portugal, England and the Hanseatic cities. He further promoted silk and tapestry production. After the death of Louis, he attempted to marry Francis' heir Anne of Brittany to the Duke of Orleans. <mask> had Guillaume Chauvin moved from prison to prison, resisting pressure to release him. Chauvin died on 5 April 1484, allegedly from starvation and abuse. Chauvin's ill treatment caused outrage among the Breton aristocracy, who were already disturbed by <mask>' power. Encouraged by Anne of Beaujeu, regent of France, his enemies organised a coup against him.Led by John IV of Chalon-Arlay, Prince of Orange, an armed gang attempted to capture Landais, but he escaped. The duke ordered that the property of the conspirators against Landais should be confiscated. The rebels were forced into exile. Henry Tudor
Still enjoying the support of the duke, Landais engaged in negotiations with supporters of Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, Lancastrian claimant to the throne of England, who was living in exile in Brittany, occupying the Château de Suscinio, Sarzeau, as guests of Duke Francis. Naval conflicts has arisen with England following the accession of king Richard III. English privateers were attacking Breton ships. Landais initially attempted to appease Richard, but later switched his support to Henry in the hope that he would overthrow Richard, thus producing an alliance between England and Brittany.However, the plot failed, and Henry was forced to return to Brittany. <mask> made overtures to Richard once more. The king offered to send 4,000 English and Welsh archers to help secure the Duke's power against the rebel Breton nobility, who were continuing to plot against <mask>. In return, <mask> was to arrange the capture and extradition of Henry, his uncle Jasper Tudor, and the other exiled Lancastrians. Duke Francis had pledged to support Henry, but he was seriously ill at this time and <mask> had complete control of the government. He assembled an armed force in Rennes, to march to Vannes and capture all of the Lancastrians, who by this time numbered around 300, including many experienced soldiers. Henry was informed of the plot.Facing arrest and extradition to England, Henry and Jasper fled across the nearest border into Anjou, crossing only hours ahead of <mask>' troops. Henry took the road towards Angers, en route for the French Court at Langeais, and secured French support for his later successful campaign against Richard. When Duke Francis recovered, he was furious with <mask>, and allowed Henry's followers to leave Brittany and to join him. Overthrow and death
<mask>' machinations only increased the number of his aristocratic enemies, who were supported by Anne of Beaujeu. By 1485 the pro-French faction had organised an army of supporters. <mask>' enemies arrived at Nantes at the head of this army on 25 June 1485. The duke was forced to deliver <mask> to be tried for various alleged crimes.He was accused of extortion and causing the death of Chauvin. Under torture, he confessed to numerous misdeeds. Tried and sentenced, <mask> was hanged on 19 July 1485 in the meadow of Biesse in Nantes. Legacy and reputation
<mask>' only child with his wife Jeanne was a daughter, Françoise. She inherited his estates. Her son became a bishop. The coup exposed the weakness of Duke Francis, which was soon exploited by Anne of Beaujeu, resulting in a full-scale French invasion of Brittany in 1488.The English chronicler Raphael Holinshed described <mask> (who he calls "Peter Landois") as "a man both of pregnant wit and great authority, [who] ruled and adjudged all things at his pleasure and commandement, for which cause (as men set in authority be not best beloved) he excited and provoked against him the malice and evil will of the nobility of Britaine [Brittany]". Also as Peter Landois he appears as a character in the Elizabethan play The True Tragedy of Richard III, which influenced Shakespeare's Richard III. He is inaccurately included among Henry Tudor's loyal allies before the Battle of Bosworth. According to Arthur Le Moyne de La Borderie French historians of the ancien regime were generally very negative in their estimation of him. He says "the old historians were very hostile to <mask>. Alain Bouchart (who wrote around thirty years after the death of the treasurer-general) represents him as 'a person of a little wisdom and of base extraction'". De la Borderie quotes D'Agentré, who says <mask> was a virtual dictator, "no-one could get anything except through him: estates, offices, benefices, hung on his whims...His position made him so arrogant and haughty that he misused princes, lords and gentry alike."Dom Lobineau claimed that he became the chief minister after facilitating the "secret pleasures" of the Duke. Such views became less common after the Revolution. De la Borderie argues that the hostility is partly aristocratic distaste for parvenus and partly because Landais sought an alliance with England against France. Notes

1430 births
1485 deaths
People from Vitré, Ille-et-Vilaine
Politicians from Brittany

masks:
Pierre Landais
Landais
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Pierre Landais
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<mask> () is an American who was convicted of providing material support to the al-Qaeda terrorist network and conspiracy to assassinate United States President George W. Bush. His case has been the subject of criticism due to the federal government admitting evidence from alleged torture during <mask>'s extraordinary rendition. Background
Born in Houston, Texas, in March 1981 and raised in Falls Church, Virginia, <mask> was valedictorian of his class at the Islamic Saudi Academy high school in nearby Alexandria. <mask> entered the University of Maryland in the fall of 1999 as an electrical engineering major, prayed at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque near Falls Church, but withdrew in the middle of the 2000 spring semester to study Islamic theology at the Islamic University of Medina in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Arrest and detention in Saudi Arabia
In June 2003, <mask> was arrested by Saudi authorities while taking exams at the Islamic University of Medina. He was held for approximately 20 months by the Saudi government without charges or access to an attorney, and given the paucity of information coming out of Saudi Arabia about the case, many human rights organizations speculated that <mask>'s situation was actually a case of extraordinary rendition and that he might be subject to torture. In addition, comments allegedly made by Gordon Kromberg, a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of Virginia, heightened the concerns that <mask> had faced torture during his detention and interrogation in Saudi Arabia.In 2003, Kromberg was asked by a defense lawyer whether <mask> would be brought to the United States to face charges. Kromberg responded: "He's no good for us here. He has no fingernails left, according to an affidavit filed in court by the lawyer, Salim <mask>. In response to the detention by the Saudi government, <mask>'s family, represented by Morton Sklar and the World Organization for Human Rights, filed a civil action against the U.S. government in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. In the suit, they asked the court to issue a writ of habeas corpus to force the United States government to take action to get <mask> returned to the US. The government challenged the case, claiming that the court did not have jurisdiction either to interfere with US foreign policy (an executive function), or to force the Saudi government to release <mask>. Judge John D. Bates issued an order requiring partial discovery to determine if the court did, in fact, have jurisdiction.US criminal trial
The District Court in DC never got a chance to rule on the issue of jurisdiction. In February 2005, <mask> was transferred to US custody pursuant to a criminal indictment, returned by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on February 3, 2005. The indictment charged <mask> with two counts of providing material support to terrorists, two counts of providing material support to a terrorist organization (Al-Qaeda), one count of contributing goods and services to Al-Qaeda, and one count of receiving services from Al-Qaeda. The indictment was later amended to add charges of conspiracy to assassinate the President of the United States, conspiracy to hijack aircraft, and conspiracy to destroy aircraft. The indictment alleged that <mask> had joined a terrorist cell in Medina, led by senior al-Qaeda members <mask>-Faqasi and Zubayr Al-Rimi, and that among the plots they were developing were a plan to assassinate the President of the United States, and a plan to mount 9/11-style attacks using planes transiting through the US. The criminal case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David H. Laufman and Stephen M. Campbell and U.S. Justice Department Trial Attorney Jerry R. DeMaio.Pretrial hearings

<mask> went to trial in the fall of 2005. The government's evidence was focused on a detailed confession <mask> had made while in Saudi custody. <mask> challenged the admissibility of the confession, claiming: (1) the confession was involuntary due to alleged torture he had suffered at the hands of the Saudis; and (2) he should have been given certain constitutional protections (including Miranda warnings), because the interrogations were a joint venture between the FBI and Saudi authorities, rather than a purely Saudi interrogation, which would not have been subject to the same scrutiny under the U.S. Constitution. After an extended pre-trial suppression hearing, in which <mask> himself testified, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, who presided over the case, ruled that <mask>'s confession to Saudi agents was admissible. <mask>’s testimony regarding his torture
<mask> testified that on the first day, his interrogators asked him whether he knew specific people and whether he knew about bombings in Riyadh. At one point, his blindfold was taken off. <mask> said he then saw the bruised face of a man through a window in the door to the room.The man was asked if he knew <mask>, and he shook his head no, then was taken away. <mask> was not fed this day. The Saudis hit him, slapped him, punched him in the stomach, and pulled his beard, ears, and hair. He was not allowed to use the bathroom, even when <mask> asked to wash up for prayers. The next day, the Saudis continued hitting him. At one point, he was taken from the chair in which he was sitting, and his handcuffs were handcuffed to a chain or other handcuffs in the floor, leaving him with his knees to his chest on the ground, hunched over with his head on his fists, and his feet shackled. Then someone began to strike him on the back and to yell, “confess!” He does not know what he was hit with, or how many times.Although he was blindfolded, <mask> said he could hear four different voices in the room, and that he thinks he was assaulted by only one person. <mask> said it was “very painful” and that it was the “first time I felt extreme pain.” While he was being hit on the back, people in the room kept telling him to “confess.” When the beating began, he was clad in an undershirt and long underpants. At one point, his undershirt was torn off and he was struck on his bare back. Eventually, <mask> told them he would cooperate. The beating stopped, and he was taken back to his cell. Marks on <mask>’s back
There were several marks on <mask>’s back which the defense presented as physical evidence that <mask> had been tortured. The prosecution claimed that these marks were not the result of torture but merely “pigment discolorations.”

The defense expert was Dr. Allen Keller, the director of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture.Dr. Keller physically examined <mask> and said that he observed about seven to ten scars on <mask>’s back which evince scars from the whipping Mr. <mask> claims he suffered during interrogation in Medina. The government expert was Dr. Robert Katz, a dermatologist. He did not physically examine <mask> but viewed photographs that the court had taken. Dr. Katz stated that, in his opinion, the marks depicted on <mask>’s back in the photograph were not scars, but “pigment discolorations.”

The judge sided with the prosecution. Jury trial and appeal

The jury trial took place in November 2005. On November 22, 2005, after deliberating for two and a half days, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict on all counts. On March 29, 2006, <mask> was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his crime.While prosecutors had pushed for a life sentence, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee explained that the (relatively) light sentence was handed down because <mask>'s actions "did not result in one single actual victim. That fact must be taken into account." On appeal, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the conviction but overturned the sentence on the grounds that the prior Court had deviated from federal sentencing guidelines which call for life in prison. Judge Lee resentenced <mask> to life in prison. Mr. <mask> is held under highly restrictive conditions in ADX Florence supermax prison. In August 2008, he requested permission to receive two books by Barack Obama, Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope. Permission was denied by prison authorities on the grounds that the books contained material "potentially detrimental to national security".Criticism of trial by Amnesty International

Amnesty International has called <mask>-<mask>'s trial unfair based on their observations in the period from November 7 to 10, 2005. They conclude that:

Amnesty International is seriously concerned that the trial of <mask> <mask> may set a precedent in US courts of according unqualified support to the declarations of a foreign government regarding its human rights record as a means of rendering evidence admissible, including statements obtained by torture and ill-treatment. In this case, the statements of officials from Saudi Arabia, a state with a clear record of widespread torture and ill-treatment, flatly denying that such practices existed appear to have been taken at face value with no serious attempts allowed to challenge the claims presented

See also

Silent witness rule

Notes

External links
Fourth Circuit opinion
FindLaw discussion of the case. Human Rights First; In Pursuit of Justice: Prosecuting Terrorism Cases in the Federal Courts (2009)

1981 births
Living people
American al-Qaeda members
American people imprisoned on charges of terrorism
Inmates of ADX Florence
People from Houston
American Sunni Muslims

masks:
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali
Ali
Abu Ali
Abu Ali
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Ahmed Abu
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John-<mask> (born 10 December 1975) is a retired Norwegian mixed martial artist. He is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, with the highlight of his career being the win in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 2003 (88–98 kg weight class). He is the only man to defeat multiple-time BJJ champion Roger Gracie in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship tournament. He holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Mixed martial arts career

Early career
<mask> made his professional MMA debut in the year 2000. He fought for a number of promotions in Finland and the Netherlands, quickly amassing an undefeated record of 4-0. He made his Japanese debut in 2003 for the Shooto promotion in 2003.<mask> did not compete from 2003-2006 due to complications of contracting a flesh-eating bacterial infection on his left foot following surgery. He completely recovered and returned to fighting in early 2006. He experienced his first professional loss in PRIDE Fighting Championships where he lost to Fabrício Werdum by unanimous decision at Pride 31. Ultimate Fighting Championship
On March 7, 2011, Einemo signed with the UFC to join their Heavyweight Division. <mask> was scheduled to make his UFC debut against Shane Carwin on June 11, 2011 at UFC 131. However, once Brock Lesnar pulled out of his fight against Junior dos Santos after again suffering with diverticulitis, Carwin stepped in to take Lesnar's place in the main event. Einemo instead fought fellow UFC newcomer Dave Herman.Einemo lost via TKO (punches) at 3:19 of round 2. This fight earned him Fight of the Night honors. On August 3, 2011, Golden Glory announced that <mask> had been released from his contract by the UFC. The UFC later reversed the decision, reinstating <mask>. In his second UFC fight, <mask> faced Mike Russow on January 28, 2012 at UFC on Fox: Evans vs. Davis. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. He was subsequently released from the promotion.Retirement
<mask> announced his retirement from mixed martial arts on April 3, 2012. He said he would continue to stay involved in the sport as a coach and help the sport grow in his native Norway. Result
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masks:
Olav Einemo
Einemo
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