Guatemalan Supreme Court To Hear Lev Tahor Case, Cult Members Continue To ‘Disturb Order’
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NEW YORK (VINnews) — After several courts in Guatemala have refused to address the legal situation of the over 200 children, teenagers, girls, and women from the Lev Tahor cult who are in protective custody, the Supreme Court of the country will review the case.
However, there is still no set date for the beginning of the hearings. Meanwhile, since the raid on the cult’s compound on November 20, authorities have stated that it needs to be determined whether the minors are at risk, following reports of severe abuse of children.
Last Thursday, Guatemala’s prison commissioner Marvin Rabanales noted that psychological assessments of the children, teenagers, girls, and women from the cult have not yet been conducted. For weeks, the compound housing the children of the cult has been experiencing violence, destruction of furniture, and even harm to welfare workers, including police officers who were injured due to wild behavior by the cult’s children.
The main issue arose due to the recent refusal of the cult’s women to accept the food provided to them, stubbornly rejecting even water.
Rabanales pointed out that in recent disturbances that occurred on the night of January 8 and the early morning of Thursday, January 9, agents of the National Civil Police were attacked, with some needing stitches due to significant wounds. Six welfare workers received treatment after acid or other substances were thrown at them, in addition to the destruction of furniture and supplies in the center housing them.
It was also reported by the Guatemalan prison system that they do not know how many teenagers are there, as they cover their faces. Authorities emphasized that the cult requires special attention since it is a religious group with practices difficult for the system to understand. “This is a cult that has been expelled from other countries like Canada and Mexico.”
Guatemala’s attorney general said that, weeks after the children were taken into custody, authorities are still seeking to identify the children and adolescents who are in state care.
“It is not yet possible to establish who their biological parents are and they do not have identification documents,” the statement said. “DNA tests will be carried out to determine who their parents are and subsequently obtain statements from them.”
Members of the cult are in a shelter, where they receive support from doctors, the Guatemalan Red Cross, and volunteer firefighters who continuously monitor their health.
Content retrieved from: https://vinnews.com/2025/01/12/guatemalan-supreme-court-to-hear-lev-tahor-case-cult-members-continue-to-disturb-order/.
