Penza cult members face deportation

18 Apr, 2008 03:17 / Updated 16 years ago

Five members of the Doomsday cult in the Penza region are to be deported as illegal immigrants. A court has ruled that all five, citizens of Belarus, broke Russia’s immigration laws. They’ve been fined and ordered to leave the country.

Officials from the Belarus Foreign Ministry are reported to have arrived in Penza to help their countrymen get home safely. More than five months ago, 35 members of a doomsday cult, including some children, barricaded themselves underground to wait for the end of the world. At least 9 of them remain in the bunker. Local residents have said they will be happy when the saga is finally over and they can escape the constant media attention – reports RT’s correspondent.