Schmidt, Lissy, 1959-1994

Pseudonym: Milena Ergen and Petra Sert; born in Germany 1959, died near Suleymania, Iraq 1994; journalist; participated in the Catholic peace movement Pax Christi and joined the campaign against the stationing of cruise missiles in Europe; moved to Istanbul 1984; published on Turkish issues; sympathized with the Kurds and their struggle for freedom; worked in the Turkish part of Kurdistan and after the Gulf War also in the autonomous Kurdish region in North-Iraq; visited Kirkuk in disguise in 1991; arrested and expelled by the Iraqi authorities and in 1992 also expelled by Turkey; worked alternately in the autonomous Kurdish region and in Frankfurt am Main 1991-1994; contributed to the Frankfurter Rundschau, the Tageszeitung and other periodicals and to radioprograms; shot near Suleymania on 3 April 1994 together with her Kurdish guide Aziz Qadir Faraj.