The international police organization Interpol has issued an arrest warrant for the leader of the extreme Jewish sect Lev Tahor, Jonathan Emmanuel Cardona Castillo.
Jonathan Emmanuel Cardona Castillo (23) is wanted by Guatemala on charges that include human trafficking, rape and abuse of minors, Interpol said.
Castillo is a citizen of Guatemala, where Lev Tahor is headquartered, and speaks Hebrew and Spanish, it said.
As reported by the AP, the Guatemalan prosecutor’s office and police confirmed the arrest warrant, stating that Cardona is accused of human trafficking in the form of forced pregnancy, rape and abuse of minors.
Some members of this sect have resided in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a time.
In February 2022, the Foreigners’ Affairs Service of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced that a group of 37 foreign nationals had left the country for causing unrest among citizens.
“These are citizens of the United States of America, Canada and Guatemala who have recently caused unrest among citizens, based on claims that they are members of the radical sect Lev Tahor. The aforementioned persons left Bosnia and Herzegovina before the expiration of their visa-free stay, on their own initiative, in compliance with the legal provisions prescribed by the Law on Foreigners,” the Service for Foreigners’ Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina announced at the time.
The foreign nationals entered Bosnia and Herzegovina in November 2021 on the basis of their right to visa-free stay. The Service for Foreigners’ Affairs carried out checks on foreign nationals through available official records, including INTERPOL records. Contact was made with the competent police department, and the Service was informed that no violation of public order or commission of criminal offenses by the foreign nationals in question had been recorded.
The competent security agencies also carried out additional checks on the aforementioned persons, and it was not determined that they posed a threat to public order and security in BiH.
As the foreign nationals did not violate the provisions of the Aliens Act, there were no grounds for taking action and imposing a measure of expulsion or placing them under supervision, it was pointed out at the time, AA writes.
