Brno sect-leader accused of serious abuse of elderly women

A man from Brno has been accused of virtually enslaving five elderly women and forcing them to carry out hard physical work, police in the city said. Jiří Adam, who is 74, says he is a leader in a sect called the Holy Grail Movement. He is accused of using his role as sect-leader to mistreat the women, several of whom lived with him and his wife in a villa in the Moravian capital. His alleged victims reportedly first came into contact with him when he conducted séances, but fell under his influence when they became part of his household. The women transferred their property to his name and gave him their pension money. Neighbours told the police the women, who were malnourished, were forced to work on Mr Adam’s extensive property even on Christmas Eve.