Brixton Maoist cult leader Aravindan Balakrishnan pictured for first time in decades
The 74-year-old appeared at London's Westminster magistrates' court after being first arrested last November and spending more than a year on bail
An OAP Maoist activist was seen publicly today for the first time in decades as he answered charges of cruelty, false imprisonment, indecent assault and rape.
Aravindan Balakrishnan, 74, appeared at London's Westminster magistrates' court after being first arrested last November and spending more than a year on bail.
He was held by police as part of an investigation into alleged slavery after detectives said three women were 'freed' from a flat in Brixton, south London.
This morning the diminutive defendant spoke in court only to confirm his name and address.
He had to repeat his date of birth after getting it wrong first time.
Balakrishnan, now of Edmonton, north London, faces 25 charges dating back to 1980.
He is accused of badly treating a child, now 31, and then falsely imprisoning her for 14 years after she turned 16.
The remaining 23 charges relate to alleged sex attacks on two women who cannot be named for legal reasons.
None of the charges relate to slavery.
Balakrishnan was last pictured in 1997.
He had been the head of a Maoist cult in Brixton that was broken up in the late 1970s but he and his wife remained in the area.
With his long grey hair now thinning, he stood in the dock struggling to hear the short proceedings before being granted bail until New Year's Eve.
He is next due to appear at Southwark Crown Court but his solicitor Adam Wiseman said he would be applying for the case to be postponed until early January.
Balakrishnan made no comment as he left court, jumping into a taxi hailed for him by his legal team.
Source http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/brixton-maoist-cult-leader-aravindan-4828816
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