Swedish yoga teacher Gregory is bipolar, was arrested in France. 26 women who were kidnapped and sexually assaulted by the sect leader were released.
An amazing operation took place in France. A 71-year-old Swedish citizen of Georgian descentYoga teacherGregorian Bivolaro was arrested in France. The leader of the sect, which has a mafia-like structure, also established centers in other European countries, authorities said.
The authorities announced the arrest of 41 members of the Movement for Absolute Spiritual Integration (MESA). Charges against the group include human trafficking and rape. It was reported that key members of the organization were also arrested in simultaneous operations in Paris and southern France.
The women remained in deplorable conditions
It was learned that members of the sect organized special events. It was reported that Bivolaro was arrested at a house in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris.
Nearly 175 police officers were deployed during the operation, and 26 women, many of whom were being held against their will, were released. The source said that the women were “detained in deplorable conditions” in terms of location and cleanliness.
A judicial source said the investigation was launched by the French League for Human Rights, a human rights NGO, which contacted the prosecutor’s office after obtaining statements from 12 former MISA members.
A source close to the investigation said MISA, which is run by Bivolaru, has been repeatedly targeted by judicial authorities in Romania, Sweden and France in recent years.
Bivolaro allegedly brought followers to his personal home for “sexual initiation” into tantric yoga. The source said the women were encouraged to agree to have sex with the group’s leader and “agree to participate in paid pornographic practices in France and abroad.”
Yoga workshops dedicated to fulfilling the desires of the prime suspect
A judicial source told AFP that the so-called yoga workshops were paid for by the female members through sexual conversations and the men through manual labor.
The source said that the workshops “were clearly intended only to satisfy the desires of the main suspect.”
A French judicial source said that the sect includes “a few hundred” members, but the exact number is not available.
The arrests follow an investigation into the sect launched by Paris prosecutors in July on suspicion of kidnapping, rape and human trafficking.
A kidnapping charge can result in up to 30 years in prison under French law.
MISA’s official website states that it also has centers in Bucharest and Vienna. On the other hand, officials said Mesa was kicked out of some major rooftop yoga associations in the early 2000s.