Yoga sect leader captured: 26 women released, accusations of rape and human trafficking

An amazing operation took place in France… The “yoga guru” Gregorian Bivolaru, a 71-year-old Swedish citizen of Georgian origin, was arrested in France.

During the operation, 26 women who were held in the sect against their will were released. Authorities claimed that the leader of the sect, which has a “mafia-like” organization, has also established centers in other European countries.

Authorities announced that 41 members of the Absolute Spiritual Integration Movement (MISA) were detained. Charges against the group include human trafficking and rape. It was claimed that key members of the organization were also detained in simultaneous operations held in Paris and the south of France.

It was learned that members of the sect organized special events.

Bivolaru was reportedly captured at a house in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris.

Approximately 175 police officers were deployed for the operation and 26 women, many of whom were being held against their will, were released during the operation. The source said the women were “kept in deplorable conditions” both in terms of space and hygiene.

A judicial source said the investigation was launched by the French League of Human Rights, a human rights NGO, which contacted the prosecutor’s office after taking statements from 12 former MISA members.

Several charges were brought against Bivolaru, including human trafficking and rape.

A source close to the investigation said MISA, under Bivolaru, has been repeatedly targeted by judicial authorities in Romania, Sweden and France in recent years.

According to the source, MISA, known as ATMAN after its expansion outside Romania, taught tantric yoga with the aim of “conditioning victims to accept sexual relations through mental manipulation techniques aimed at eliminating the concept of consent.”

Bivolaru allegedly brought female followers to his personal home for a “sexual initiation” into tantric yoga. The source said that she encouraged the women to agree to have sexual relations with the group’s leader and “agree to participate in paid pornographic practices in France and abroad.”

“THEY ARE DEDICATED TO SATISFYING THE WISHES OF THE MAIN SUSPECT”

A judicial source explained to AFP that the so-called yoga workshops were paid for by women through sexual chats and by men through manual labor.

The source said the workshops were “clearly dedicated solely to satisfying the wishes of the main suspect.”

A French judicial source said the sect had “a few hundred” members, but an exact figure was not available.

The arrests follow an investigation into the sect launched by Paris prosecutors in July on suspicion of kidnapping, rape and human trafficking.

The kidnapping charge can carry up to 30 years in prison under French law.

The official MISA website indicates that it also has centers in Bucharest and Vienna. On the other hand, officials said MISA was expelled from some major rooftop yoga associations in the early 2000s.