freedom times

9 May 2026

❝Building the Cult❞: How the Law Failed Katie Simpson

• Coercive Control
• Legislation
• Armagh
• Northern Ireland
• UK

A landmark independent review published this week exposes not just a murder, but a cult-like system of control. One that the law failed to see, and that survivors of coercive groups will recognise in chilling detail.

4 May 2026

Inès Chatin, Libération’s rue du Bac investigation, and France’s public reckoning

• Child sexual abuse
• France
• Libération
• Inès Chatin
• Paris

After Libération put the rue du Bac investigation on the page, France's major broadcasters, regional archives, and the Paris Bar's dated columns picked up the thread from Paris to the Atlantic coast. This piece walks the dated record in sequence—who was named, who had to answer—and keeps allegations framed as allegations until any court says otherwise.

2 May 2026

Breton mayor remanded as prosecutors allege sect-like online group and sexual coercion

• France
• Tréogan
• Côtes-d'Armor

The recently elected mayor of Tréogan, a village of about 100 people in France’s Côtes-d’Armor, is in provisional custody while Toulon prosecutors pursue a case that began with a 2022 complaint and now includes accusations of cultic exploitation, intrusive control, and sexual violence.

1 May 2026

Norway Supreme Court rules in Jehovah’s Witnesses case: what happened, what it means, and what may come next

• Jehovah's Witnesses
• Legislation
• Oslo
• Norway

Norway’s Supreme Court has invalidated state refusal decisions on Jehovah’s Witnesses subsidies and registration, while exposing a sharp judicial split over pressure, withdrawal, and harm.

30 Apr 2026

Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light: 500 Police Officers raid Crewe Cult HQ

• Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light
• Cult Apologists
• Modern Slavery
• UK
• Crewe
• Cheshire

What happened in Crewe, what allegations are being investigated, and why the public defense campaign around ARPOL has become part of the story.

29 Apr 2026

In Plain Sight: What Netflix's ❝Unchosen❞ Shows Us About Hidden Cults In The UK

• Plymouth Brethren Christian Church
• UK
• Netflix
• TV

Netflix’s Unchosen brings hidden high-control religion into public view. Drawing on testimony from former PBCC member Lance Christie, this piece compares key scenes with documented patterns in the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church - including social exclusion, family pressure, gendered control, economic dependency, and distrust of outside authorities.

11 Apr 2026

Introducing Freedom Times: A Voice for Survivors Across the UK and Europe

Freedom Times launches as a UK and Europe focused voice for survivors of coercive abuse and cult-related harm, especially those facing harassment and silencing.