Raid on Brazilian cult exposes workers in slavery-like conditions
An ongoing investigation into a religious cult in Brazil has found 79 people in slavery-like conditions on a farm, federal authorities said on Friday.
The farm is run by Igreja Adventista Remanescente de Laodiceia, a religious community of about 300 people in Brasilia, the country's capital.
The laborers, found working in dangerous conditions for little to no pay, are members of the cult and have not asked for help.
"We observed that there is strong psychological coercion. (The followers) believe they work for their own spiritual salvation," Rodrigo Ramos, a labor inspector, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation....