The week of 22–28 June brought cult and high-control-group news across Europe and the UK: Sweden's first Maniac Murder Cult terror conviction and expert warnings about online extremist hubs; Pope Leo XIV confronting the Society of St Pius X over planned bishop ordinations in Switzerland; Mohamed Al-Fayed survivors lodging fresh complaints against the Metropolitan Police; Michael Petkov-Kleiner's memoir of the French Filiation Solazaref cult; leaked details of Peter Thiel's Dialog Society retreat near Dublin; and Harrison Hill's argument that the UK is not immune to American-style cult harm. Summaries draw on monitored European and UK outlets; full source links follow.

Swedish MKY terror conviction opens door for Com prosecutions

A 20-year-old man from Sollentuna was sentenced on 27 June at Attunda District Court to one year and six months in prison for participation in the terrorist organisation Maniac Murder Cult, known by its Cyrillic abbreviation MKY. The court found that between November 2025 and his arrest in February 2026 he recruited members, spread propaganda and graffitied MKY slogans and swastikas in Sigtuna. Prosecutors said he offered to build a Swedish cell of the satanist-Nazi movement founded in Dnipro in 2017, discussed bomb and poison attacks in notes, and encouraged an online contact who wanted a large-scale attack on migrants. The defendant admitted partial guilt but disputed that MKY is a terrorist organisation. The court rejected the prosecutor's request to treat the offence as aggravated.

Attunda District Court said MKY constitutes a terrorist organisation under Swedish law, in what SVT, Sweden's public broadcaster, reported as the first domestic conviction for participation in a terrorist organisation outside Islamist groups such as Islamic State. The group is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK, Canada and Russia but not in Sweden or the EU. Edvin Sandström, an investigator at Sweden's Centre for Violent Extremism, told the broadcaster the verdict could resonate across Europe and that Sweden's English proficiency and far-right history make it vulnerable as a hub for internet-based groups in “the Com”, including 764 and No Lives Matter. He cautioned that MKY's clearer ideology makes classification easier than for looser networks.

Pope Leo warns SSPX over planned bishop ordinations in Switzerland

The Society of St Pius X plans to ordain four bishops at its international seminary in Écône, Valais, Switzerland, on 1 July, placing the traditionalist fraternity on a collision course with Pope Leo XIV little over a year into his papacy. The Guardian reported on 25 June that Leo told journalists in Rome he was considering another appeal for the order to remain in communion, adding that if the SSPX chose schism, “we must move forward.” Ordaining bishops without Vatican approval carries automatic excommunication under canon law. The SSPX, founded in 1970 to oppose Second Vatican Council reforms, says the ordinations respond to practical need and deny seeking parallel jurisdiction.

The order rejects core Vatican II teachings on religious freedom and ecumenism and has nearly 1,500 priests and seminarians worldwide, with a large base in Kansas. Pope Benedict XVI lifted excommunications imposed after the SSPX's last unauthorised ordinations in 1988; Pope Francis later recognised its sacraments for marriage and confession. Massimo Faggioli of Trinity College Dublin told the Guardian the dispute is doctrinal, not merely liturgical. Swiss newspaper Blick reported on 28 June that more than 10,000 believers from 62 countries had registered for the 1 July bishop ordinations at Écône, the fraternity's seminary town in the Swiss Alps, via a Telegram channel; Freedom Times covered the SSPX and Vatican standoff earlier in June. Vatican correspondent Hendro Munsterman expected Rome to excommunicate clergy who proceed.

Al-Fayed survivors file new complaints over Met Police handling

Survivors of abuse by the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed have complained to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) about how the Metropolitan Police handled allegations reported between 2018 and 2024, the Evening Standard reported on 28 June. The IOPC is assessing three complaints received this week and already investigates one serving and four former officers for potential misconduct. More than 400 claims of sexual misconduct against Al Fayed, including rape and human trafficking, span 1977 to 2014. The Met's Operation Cornpoppy, launched 19 months ago, has interviewed four people among at least 155 victims who contacted police directly.

The survivor-led collective No One Above has called for a National Crime Agency (NCA) joint investigation team to oversee the Met probe amid concerns about transparency. A pseudonymous survivor, Justine, told the Press Association that a question on NCA oversight submitted before a June video call with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and around 200 survivors “wasn't really asked.” Downing Street said Starmer paid tribute to survivors' courage and that the meeting was the start of work to secure justice.

French survivor memoir exposes Filiation Solazaref cult in Auvergne

Michael Petkov-Kleiner has published Fanatisé, mon enfance dans une secte d'extrême droite, a memoir of growing up in the Filiation Solazaref, a little-known Auvergne cult built on alchemy and far-right ideology. France 3 Auvergne, the regional public broadcaster, reported on 25 June that his parents joined when he was five, leaving eastern France for a village where about fifty members lived and up to 300 adherents were claimed across Europe. Petkov-Kleiner described armed men in camouflage, paranoia about “dark forces” including Freemasons and communists, and a staged shooting in which the guru wounded his own leg to reinforce predictions of persecution.

He told the outlet he was the only child sent to state school while others attended private school, feeling caught between cult propaganda and a left-leaning classroom. His mother left after writing that the guru sought to break her marriage to add her to his harem. Petkov-Kleiner said former second-generation members have contacted him since publication, reviving long-repressed emotions.

Leaked Dialog Society retreat list puts Thiel's Irish gathering under scrutiny

A leaked directory linked to Peter Thiel's invitation-only Dialog Society put an August retreat at a Wicklow estate near Dublin under scrutiny this week. Die Presse, the Austrian daily, reported on 23 June that more than 200 guests are expected for off-the-record workshops including “Navigating World War III,” “Bring Back Nuclear,” “How to Found a Cult” and “How's Your Sex Life?” Swiss hacker Maia Arson Crimew and Wired magazine exposed details after fragments briefly appeared on dialog.org. Former German health minister Jens Spahn confirmed attending five Dialog meetings between 2018 and 2024 at his own expense of more than 15,000 euros per event but said he would not attend this year.

Wired listed tech figures, senators Ted Cruz and Cory Booker, Tulsi Gabbard, Jared Kushner and Garry Kasparov among leaked names. EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas denied she would attend. Organisers allegedly graded invitees A, B and C by prominence and ran background checks. A 2014 invitation to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein also appeared in leaked material. Thiel co-founded Dialog in 2006 with Auren Hoffman; meetings have been held at venues including the Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain in Arizona and a Venetian palace.

UK not immune to cult harm, argues American author in Big Issue

Cult expert Harrison Hill argued in the Big Issue on 27 June that extremism and high-control groups are not an American monopoly, citing parallels between the US Aggressive Christianity Missions Training Corps at the centre of his book The Oracle's Daughter and the UK's Jesus Army. Hill, who spent five years reporting on a New Mexico compound raided in 2017, compared patterns of child abuse, family separation and total surrender of possessions. He noted the Jesus Army's collapse after a 2019 BBC investigation into abuse claims in Northamptonshire and Midlands communities founded in the 1970s.

Hill traced UK anti-cult activism from FAIR (Family Action Information and Rescue) in 1975 to a 2002 parliamentary motion lamenting government inaction, contrasted with France's 2001 cult legislation. His book follows Sarah Green's escape from her mother's cult; the piece warns that groups promising spiritual and material belonging will always find recruits. The Oracle's Daughter is published by Bridge Street Press.

Beyond Europe

The items below were reported on European outlets we monitor but concern events outside the UK and European Union.

Tulsi Gabbard and Science of Identity Foundation

French outlets France 24 and France Info reported this week on a Washington Post investigation into Tulsi Gabbard's ties to Chris Butler's Science of Identity Foundation, which former members describe as a high-control group combining yoga and Hinduism with strict secrecy. Gabbard, who served as Donald Trump's Director of National Intelligence, thanked her “guru” in a 2015 speech while a Hawaii congresswoman. France Info said leaked memos allegedly dictated her Fox News lines on terrorism and guided House legislation on veterans, tax and the Malaysia Airlines crash before she entered government. Butler denies representing God without scrutiny of his teaching. Salon on 25 June described Gabbard as having moved from social-conservative Democrat to MAGA appointee while remaining affiliated with Butler's circle. The Post investigation cited a whistleblower document cache. Gabbard and Butler have not been charged with offences arising from the reporting.

Shincheonji founder Lee Man-hee arrested in Seoul

A Seoul court ordered the arrest of Lee Man-hee, 94 or 95, founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, for allegedly coercing more than 50,000 followers to join South Korea's conservative People Power Party (PPP) between 2021 and 2024, violating the Political Parties Act. Wire copy from Agence France-Presse (AFP), carried by the Manila Times on 25 June and Die Presse on 24 June, said the alleged aim was influence over presidential and parliamentary primaries while the PPP held power under impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol. Prosecutors are also examining whether Lee misappropriated up to seven million euros. Lee denies the allegations; the court cited risk of evidence destruction. Shincheonji, founded in 1984, has recruited in Germany under alternate names, Die Presse noted.

William Kamm 'Little Pebble' grooming trial in Sydney

William Kamm, 76, leader of the Order of Saint Charbel near Nowra, New South Wales, and his wife Sandra Susan Mathison, 60, pleaded not guilty at Sydney's Downing Centre on 23 June to jointly grooming a girl from age six between 2010 and 2020. The Guardian reported prosecutors allege Kamm, who calls himself “Little Pebble,” envisioned twelve “queen” wives and a post-apocalyptic mission to repopulate Earth; Jesus allegedly predicted the complainant would bear 45 of his children. The crown said Kamm spoke to the girl in coded calls from prison, proposed a “spiritual marriage” at seven, and by age nine suggested they meet on a cruise once he was released, citing the absence of age-of-consent laws at sea as justification. Mathison allegedly relayed messages and, in March 2020, suggested she could use Kamm's sperm to impregnate herself. The complainant reported abuse in September 2024. Kamm's counsel said he never met her physically. All defendants are presumed innocent until verdict.

Michelle Zajko charged over parents' murder linked to Zizians

Michelle Zajko, 33, associated with the Zizians, a cult-like network of young vegan activists linked to multiple US deaths, faces trial over the murders of Rita and Richard Zajko at their Chester Heights, Pennsylvania home on New Year's Eve 2022, her thirtieth birthday, Metro reported on 25 June. Prosecutors say she was in the home and arranged the killings but did not act alone; she denies murder, burglary and conspiracy and suggested her father may have killed her mother and himself. Zajko is also charged over a gun used to kill US Border Patrol agent David Maland in January 2025. She was arrested in Maryland with Daniel Blank and Jack “Ziz” LaSota, whom authorities describe as the group's leader. LaSota's lawyers deny a cult exists. Rita Zajko texted her daughter hours before the shooting to apologise and wish her happy birthday; the message went unanswered, the district attorney said.

Source citations

SVT (Sweden): "Experten om Maniac murder cult-domen: ”Sverige är sårbart”", 27 June 2026.

Aftonbladet (Sweden): "Ville bygga nazistisk terrorcell – döms", 26 June 2026.

SVT (Sweden): "20-åring döms för deltagande i terrororganisationen Maniac murder cult", 26 June 2026.

The Guardian: "Crisis looms for Pope Leo as splinter sect seeks to ordain far-right bishops", 25 June 2026.

Blick (Switzerland): "Wegen Bischofsweihe: Piusbrüdern droht Rausschmiss", 28 June 2026.

Evening Standard: "Al-Fayed survivors complain to watchdog about Met Police's handling of case", 28 June 2026.

France 3 Auvergne (France): "TEMOIGNAGE. \"C'était une secte de barge\" : il raconte son enfance dans une secte d'extrême droite en Auvergne dans un livre", 25 June 2026.

France 3 Auvergne (France): "Michael Petkov-Kleiner raconte son enfance dans la secte Filiation Solazaref", 26 June 2026.

Die Presse (Austria): "Dritter Weltkrieg, Sekten und die Frage nach Sex: Der Geheimclub von Peter Thiel", 23 June 2026.

Big Issue: "'Extremism knows no nationality – the UK is not immune to cults'", 27 June 2026.

France 24 (France): "États-Unis : Tulsi Gabbard sous l'emprise d'une secte ? Les révélations du Washington Post", 23 June 2026 [05:47].

franceinfo (France): "Tulsi Gabbard, ex-directrice du renseignement américain sous Donald Trump, est-elle adepte d'une secte ?", 27 June 2026.

Salon: "Tulsi Gabbard was in more than one cult", 25 June 2026.

Die Presse (Austria): "Südkorea: 95 Jahre alter Sektengründer Lee Man Hee festgenommen", 24 June 2026.

The Manila Times: "South Korea arrests sect leader over alleged political recruitment coercion", 25 June 2026.

The Guardian: "Cult leader William Kamm and wife groomed young girl for a decade, Sydney court told", 23 June 2026.

Metro: "Member of Zizians 'cult' group charged with murdering her parents", 25 June 2026.