Twelve Tribes sect may have smuggled children to Czech Republic

The Twelve Tribes Christian sect in Bavaria that is suspected of child abuse may have smuggled a group of children to the Czech Republic to hide them from the police, the German magazine Der Spiegel writes. Forty children were taken from the sect earlier this month following police raids at a monastery and a farm. The magazine claims the sect has another home base in Dolchau, Saxony, of which the authorities were not aware and from which ten children aged 7 to 16 disappeared in recent days, according to neighbours in the vicinity. Der Spiegel says the sect recently bought a farm near Prague where the children may have been smuggled. The Twelve Tribes sect, whose teachings are based on the Old and New Testament, is known to believe in corporal punishment. It had been under observation by authorities for some time, particularly for its refusal to send its children to school.