Sentences of up to 50 years in prison were handed down against members of a Panamanian sect who killed six children and a pregnant woman on January 14, 2020 in a ceremony aimed at "
casting out the demon
", announced Friday 3 December the Panamanian prosecutor's office.
"
The Court imposed the maximum penalty of 50 years in prison on each of the seven accused
" of the "
New Light of God
"
sect
, the prosecution said in a statement.
To read also "The great tribulation": cloistered in a basement, Jehovah's witnesses predict the Apocalypse
Two other members of the sect had previously been sentenced each to 47 years in prison after reaching an agreement with the prosecution, the same source said.
The members of the sect were found guilty by the court of Changuinola (north-east) of having tied their victims, including six children aged between one and 17 years of the indigenous community Ngäbe Buglé of El Terron, before kill them with sticks, Bibles and machetes under the pretext of "
driving out the demon from them
".
The pregnant woman, forcibly dragged to the sect's church, was killed in front of her five children who were themselves subsequently severely beaten, along with a sixth minor, in the presence of the assembly. of the sect.
Several witnesses to the scene, themselves injured, fled and alerted the police.
On their arrival, the police discovered about fifteen people detained in the place of worship, including several children.
During the investigation, the bodies of the victims were discovered, still tied up and in an advanced state of decomposition, in a mass grave located an hour's walk from the scene of the crime.
