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Leaders of religious Jewish cult released from Mexican jail


Two leaders of the extreme ultra-Orthodox group Lev Tahor were released from a Mexican prison due to a "lack of evidence,” it was reported on Sunday, following their arrest in a raid several days earlier.


Court documents identified the two suspects as Menachem Mendel Alter from Israel and Canadian national Yoel Rosner.


The two were detained in southern Mexico on suspicion of alleged human trafficking and sex crimes and faced up to 20 years in prison.


Yaret Jimenez, the lawyer for both men, told Mexican news agency Efe that her clients were "100 percent acquitted."


Lev Tahor cult members escape detention - was the raid for nothing?


The Lev Tahor cult members who were arrested last week managed to escape the detention facility they were being held in on Thursday after using extreme violence against enforcement officials.


The approximately 20 members of the cult were arrested in Mexico during a raid conducted by Mexican police together with a delegation of Israelis.


"They wouldn't let us leave", said David Rosales, a member of the cult, after the escape. "This is a violation of freedom and religious rights."


Jewish sect held in Mexico overpower guards to flee


About 20 members of a Jewish sect held at a facility in Mexico after a police raid on their jungle base have fled.


Footage showed men, women, and children streaming out of the site in Huixtla, in the west, on Wednesday night.


They had been there since the raid last Friday when two members were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and serious sexual offences.


The sect, Lev Tahor, is known for extremist practices and imposing a strict regime on its followers.


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