Jonathan Spollen
Leonard Spollen | |
---|---|
Born |
Leonard Jonathan Spollen 1984 Ireland |
Disappeared |
3 February 2012 (age 28) Lakshman Jhula, Rishikesh |
Status | Missing for 6 years, 8 months and 10 days |
Nationality | Irish |
Height | 6 ft (1.8 m) |
Leonard Jonathan Spollen [1] (born 1984) disappeared on 3 February 2012 while working as a journalist for the International Herald Tribune newspaper, and formerly Assistant Foreign Editor of The National in Abu Dhabi.[2] He went missing from the northern Indian tourist attraction of Rishikesh, sparking an international campaign to locate him,[3] which included his local TD, Eoghan Murphy, raising the issue in the Irish Parliament.[4]
Biography
Spollen has worked on stories including the Iranian nuclear programme,[5] the Hijab controversy in Ireland[6] and the 2009 Iranian Elections.[7] He read Philosophy and Politics at University College Dublin, before commencing postgraduate studies in 2004 focusing on the Near and Middle East at London's School of Oriental and African Studies.[8]
Disappearance and aftermath
Some commentators have speculated that Spollen may have fallen prey to a supposed condition increasingly described as the India syndrome, which shares similarities with the alleged form of spiritual hysteria known as the Jerusalem syndrome.[3][9] However, this claim has yet to be substantiated. Spollen is still considered a missing person.[10] Indian police and Irish authorities are calling for any information as to his whereabouts.[1]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Please help find Jonathan Spollen". www.findspollen.com.
- ↑ Rohan Venkataramakrishnan (2 May 2012). "Irish journalist goes missing from Rishikesh". dailymail.co.uk.
- 1 2 Bennett-Smith, Meredith (11 October 2012). "Jonathon Spollen, Missing Irishman, May Have Fallen Victim To Mysterious 'India Syndrome'". Huff Post.
- ↑ "Topical Issue: The Search Effort for Jonathan Spollen - EoghanMurphy.ie". eoghanmurphy.ie.
- ↑ Jonathan Spollen (October 4, 2009). "Iran's warhead date is anyone's guess". thenational.ae.
- ↑ Jonathan Spollen (September 20, 2008). "Hijab sparks controversy in Ireland". thenational.ae.
- ↑ Jonathan Spollen (June 23, 2009). "Debating Ahmadinejad". thenational.ae.
- ↑ Mary Fitzgerald (Apr 28, 2012). "Jonathan Spollen: lost in India". irishtimes.com.
- ↑ "India Syndrome - death on the path to enlightenment". forumotion.net.
- ↑ Jessica Ravitz (7 June 2014). "Lost and found: Missing in Rishikesh, India, the 'Land of Gods'". CNN. Archived from the original on 7 June 2014 – via archive.org.