The police raided the old monastery yesterday with over a hundred officers. There, a 25-year-old woman is said to have been held against her will by a cult. According to Engelen, this is an employee of his company. According to the Dutchman, while she was taken “under loud protest” she tried to make it clear that she was staying in the monastery voluntarily.
Prophet
In the Graefenthal monastery, the police found 54 people, including ten children. The police also arrested a 58-year-old Dutchman who would call himself a prophet. According to Engelen, the man is a predecessor of the Order of the Transformants, to which he himself belongs.
The order is originally a Dutch religious movement, which is regarded as a sect. The group also had a residential community in Hoeven in Brabant, but it is not clear whether it still exists. The order has been discredited earlier because supporters attacked ex-members.
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The order has lived in Graefenthal for years and operates the former monastery as a venue for events. Engelen is director of the company. According to him, more people were arrested yesterday, but they were released during the day. The pastor and the 25-year-old woman are still being questioned by the police.
Children
“It is bizarre when police suddenly come in early in the morning with automatic weapons, which they also aim at children”, says Engelen, who states that not all those present are transformants. People hired for an event also slept. Graefenthal is a popular destination for weddings, parties and parties.
The German police received a report that the 25-year-old woman would be a victim of deprivation of liberty. “I think that was done by someone who is jealous of us,” says Engelen. “We have a successful company here that attracted more than 100,000 visitors last year. But it is all madness, the bottom stone has to come up.”
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