John was long out of the cult when he signed this affidavit.  I don't believe for a second that he had any residual fear of Rawat the Supernatural Divine Being.  He just wanted to do whatever he needed to to get this organization off his back.  Yes, I agree, Rawat looks terrible through this ugly adventure and what John says in the affidavit makes him look the worst.  But John betrayed his friends, a cause he believed in and his entire profession.  And what's so ironic is that he did that after himself being stung by the impact of someone else signing an affidavit against him under duress. 

Let's put it this way, if John felt really bad about this -- something of which we don't have a bit of evidence as he's blown us all off -- I'd be anxious to ensure that he didn't shoulder the full weight of his action.  The cult pressured him into it, he deserves some slack at least.  On the other hand, if John feels okay about it all and has somehow justified his actions (something I suspect might be true given the fact that he's back in there playing the role of the (brave?) investigative journalist, this time writing about Myamaar), I'd still have a few choice words for him.