A centenary of relatives of the 160 children who were rescued from a Jewish sect ultra-orthodox in Guatemala This Sunday they went to a shelter in the capital where their children were taken and demanded that the authorities return them to them.
The relatives, belonging to the sect, were stationed on a street in front of the headquarters of the Alida Spain Special Care Center for Childrenwhere the minors were taken.
“We want them to let the children out of here,” he told the AFP a representative of the family members, Uriel Goldmanwhile observing several police officers who were guarding near the place.
According to the Attorney General’s Office (PGN) the members of the sect “broke into” the center where the minors were held, “abducting” several of them, but with the help of the police “they were able to locate and protect everyone again.”
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However, people who were near the reservation supported members of the sect, and tried in vain to prevent the minors from being taken into custody, which generated some struggles.
The night of this Sunday December 22the SecreSocial Welfare Department of the Presidency in charge of the shelter, in a statement indicated, without specifying a number, that there were children who “abandoned the facilities” when the break-in occurred and are now wanted.
“With this, they evaded the temporary and exceptional shelter process with which they were being beneficiaries,” said that secretariat, adding that an “alert” was activated used in the search for missing minors.
Guatemalan authorities rescued the 160 children on a sect farm on Friday Lev Tahorwhich was investigated for alleged sexual abuse of minors.
The sect’s property, which was raided, is located in the municipality of Oratorioabout 60 km southwest of the capital.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the raid during which the children were rescued was carried out due to “suspicion” of human trafficking crimes “in the form of forced pregnancy, abuse of minors and rape.”
During the raid, the alleged remains of a minor were found, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Goldman called the allegations against the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect “lies.”
“The authorities carried out a very large investigation here in Guatemala, with reports, they tell lies with false complaints,” Goldman said.
Jewish sect in Guatemala was in the crosshairs of the authorities
The Lev Tahor sect was targeted by authorities over allegations of child abuse, forced marriages and teenage pregnancies.
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The sect, which settled in Oratorio in 2016 after being expelled from a Mayan town in 2014 Due to conflicts with locals, he has described the investigations as “religious persecution.”
“There is pressure from outside (to) destroy the community, we ask for support from the world,” said the family representative.
Lev Tahor was formed in the years 1980 and its members, who wear dark robes and practice an ultra-Orthodox version of Judaism, settled in Guatemala in 2013.
The authorities estimate that the group is made up of 50 families, mainly from Guatemala, USA y Canada.
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