Ex-British army officer faces 13 years in Romanian jail over ayahuasca ceremony

Exclusive: Thomas Lishman charged with prominent local figures in landmark human rights case'

A former British army officer is facing up to 13 years' imprisonment in Romania for facilitating an ayahuasca ceremony in which the hallucinogenic Amazonian healing medicine was consumed by prominent figures, including the former head of the country's secret police.

Thomas Lishman, 58, was arrested on 15 December last year as police and special forces raided a retreat centre outside Bucharest at dawn. It followed an evening where attendees sat in a circle meditating and drinking ayahuasca, a brew which is said to lead to mystical life-changing experiences. Some were later taken to hospital to provide blood samples.