Nov 28, 2023 at 4:02 p.m
French police have arrested 41 members of an international yoga sect. The members, led by yoga guru Gregorian Bivolaru, are suspected of abuse, human trafficking and kidnapping.
The so-called Atman yoga sect is said to have committed several crimes under the guise of yoga.
The large-scale police operation took place in the Paris region and the Maritime Alps, the French newspaper reported The Parisian. Not only were dozens of people arrested, 26 women were also released.
Among those arrested is 71-year-old Bivolaru from Romania. The yoga expert was sentenced to six years in prison in his native country ten years ago for child abuse.
Later he is said to have founded the yoga sect and appointed himself its spiritual leader. Atman has numerous yoga movements and is active in more than thirty countries. According to The Parisian the sect may have several hundred followers.
Accusations of indoctrination under the name ‘tantric yoga’
Bivolaru is accused, among other things, of indoctrinating women under the name “tantric yoga”. He is said to have sexually abused several women. Ten women were regularly locked up and exploited, the newspaper writes. The women were allegedly forced to accept sexual relations with their leader.
In addition to the abuse, Bivolaru and the other suspects are suspected of complicity in human trafficking and kidnapping.
Image: AFP
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2023-11-28 15:02:40
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