On Monday, January 31, French law enforcement agencies arrested 16 employees of the Beit Yosef yeshiva on suspicion of ill-treatment of students, in their forcible retention. This was written by Le Parisien.
According to media reports, hundreds of gendarmes took part in the operation, which took place in the Seine-et-Marne department.
40 underage boys and about twenty young men from Israel and the USA studied at the yeshiva “Beit Yosef”. Prosecutors said the administration took advantage of the fact that the students did not speak French and therefore could not complain. Students were confiscated mobile phones and documents, they were deprived of the opportunity to tell their families about what was happening within the walls of the educational institution or to return home.
Law enforcement agencies became interested in what was happening in the yeshiva in July 2021, when one of the students managed to escape. The student took refuge on the grounds of the US Embassy in Paris. He spoke about unsanitary conditions in the boarding school, about poor nutrition, and cruel punishments that students are subjected to. Soon, several more boys managed to escape from the yeshiva, they confirmed his words. A preliminary investigation was initiated.
TV channel i24 reported that the building of the yeshiva will be closed, as it is in disrepair. The fate of the children was taken up by social services.