Scientology lost an appeal in Canada’s biggest libel judgement:1.6 million because Scientology tried to discredit
Casey Hill, the prosecutor who handled the criminal case against the Church. (Criminal
Time Track: Issue III, (54))
Note: Another case of your donations going to pay for RTC’s black intelligence
operations, gone wrong. No wonder it costs so much for services. RTC keeps paying out multi-millions in suits against them for running illegal black
intelligence operations on people.
Note: Miscavige’s and RTC’s crimes are being exposed on the internet. So, they
need a solution.
A project to flood the Internet with thousands of websites is engaged upon.
Scientologists are told to open a "I am a Scientologist" website.
Unbeknownst to the Scientolgists who installed this program onto their computer, RTC covertly installed a "Net Nanny" that censors over
1000 websites, e-mail addresses and names of critics. RTC is afraid that Scientologists will find out about their criminal activities on the
internet. If you installed this on your computer and want it off, go to http://www.xenu.net/archive/events/censorship/ for directions on how to
remove it.
SP Times article states that Scientology attorneys in court condemned the
actions of the Scientologists who took care of Lisa McPherson. (Brief overview of Scientology's interaction with Clearwater Florida)
The Church of Scientology settles the Bonnie Woods libel suit against them.
They paid her. (Criminal
Time Track: Issue II)
Larry Wollersheim breaks off settlement negotiations with Scientology. He
now has a collection case in LA County Superior Court for 6.8 million. (Criminal
Time Track: Issue III, (56))
CNN: French Justice Ministry investigates destruction of Scientology
evidence - Web posted at: 7:06 AM EDT (1106 GMT)
PARIS (AP) -- France's Justice Ministry opened an investigation Wednesday
into the destruction of key evidence against the Church of Scientology
in a Marseille court, according to judicial sources.
Marseille court officials alerted the Justice Ministry to the removal of
more than three tons of evidence in August, the sources said on customary
condition of anonymity.
The Marseille prosecutor's office said in a statement that the destruction
of certain sealed files was a result of "negligence" by a court
clerk and not an intentional act.
The documents relate to an investigation opened in 1990 against regional
Scientology leaders in the southern coastal cities of Marseille and Nice for
fraud and the illegal practice of medicine.
Seven of those leaders are scheduled to go on trial Sept. 20. The
destruction of the evidence will not delay the trial, the sources said.
According to a lawyer representing the plaintiff, a former Scientologist,
the evidence destroyed includes financial statements, notes concerning
Scientology members and apparatus known as "electrometers," designed
to measure "self-control."
The lawyer, Jean-Michel Pesenti, said the documents were relatively
unimportant, but that the church could try to use their disappearance to delay
the trial.
The case was initially put off in 1995 due to a procedural error.
A Paris appeals court is expected to rule Sept. 29 on a similar case
against the Church of Scientology in which evidence also disappeared.
France has long had a contentious relationship with Scientology, which is
fighting to be recognized as a legitimate religion in Europe.
In July, France's highest court upheld the acquittal of nine Scientology
members accused of corruption and theft, ruling it lacked the authority to
decide whether Scientology is a religion.
French prosecutors had argued the church was a sect that defrauded people
of their money.
France registers the church on a list of 173 groups that should be tracked
to prevent cult activities. Most other European countries also don't accept it
as a religion.
Founded in 1954 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, the Los
Angeles-based organization teaches that technology can expand the mind and
help solve human problems.
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
ABC News World: God and Country - U.S. Report Assesses Religious Freedom
Around the World
China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Serbia, Burma (Myanmar), Afghanistan, Iraq and
Iran commit some of the harshest violations of religious freedom, according to
a new report from the State Department.
By Eric Wagner. ABCNEWS.com
W A S H I N G T O N, Sept. 9 — The State Department today issued its
first report ever that focuses exclusively on "violations of religious
freedoms" in 194 countries.
The Clinton administration didn't want to issue such relatively
narrow assessments, arguing that its annual "human rights" report
provides a broader picture of internal practices in the rest of the world.
But Congress, lobbied intensely by a number of religious groups, eventually
had its way. A law passed last year called on U.S. embassies to more carefully
monitor religious liberties in their host countries. In Washington, the State
Department was compelled to appoint an ambassador to write the
International Religious Freedom Report.
It "forces the State Department for the first time to deal with the
issue of religious persecution in a direct way, something it didn't have to do
before," said Rabbi David Saperstein, chairman of a separate
investigative commission created by the same law that mandated today's report.
Report May Offend Key Allies
The report is not likely to be well-received in the capitals of some of
America's most important allies. The first sentence of the section on Saudia
Arabia states that "freedom of religion does not exist."
Based on the information contained in the report, Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright is required to designate a list of "Countries of Particular
Concern," which then would be subject to a range of actions from private
conversations to full-blown economic sanctions.
But the law doesn't specifically require the secretary to take this
separate action immediately, and officials indicate she will not.
"It would be premature to talk about sanctions," said Ambassador Robert
Seiple, who leads the State Department's Religious Freedoms Office.
"We do not look at this bill as a punitive bill, as a way to punish other
countries."
A Different Point of View
Although the religious freedom report was prepared by the same office that
publishes the annual human rights reports, the Religious Freedom Report
sees the world through a different lens.
For example, the section covering Germany, not considered a major
human rights violator, contains a lengthy discussion of that country's often
contentious relationship with the Church of Scientology.
Cuba, often the subject of official U.S. scorn for its human rights
practices, gets generally light treatment in today's report.
And even as President Clinton prepares to meet with Chinese President Jiang
Zemin, the report hits hard at China, saying that citizens who engage in
unregistered religious activity can face "harassment, prolonged detention
and incarceration in prison."
ABCNEWS' Eric Wagner reports from the State Department.
BBC News Online: World: Europe: Scientology faces French ban
France might consider banning the Church of Scientology, which it regards
as a sect rather than a religion.
The Justice Minister, Elisabeth Guigou, made it clear that the
future of the organisation in France was under close scrutiny.
Her remarks came as US officials expressed concern over the growing
intolerance shown to minority religious groups in some European countries.
(...)
In the United States, the Church of Scientology is regarded as a religion.
However, a global report on religious freedom by the State Department said
the group continued to report discrimination and harassment in some European
countries.
In some cases it was viewed as an economic enterprise. In Germany, said the
report, officials had decribed it as a criminal organisation.
The State Department said that asking people and companies whether
they had associations with the group was an abuse of human rights.
Jesse Prince files an affidavit in the Lisa McPherson case in Clearwater. He
is a class IX auditor and C/S.
He says he has personally witnessed executive decisions directed to church members telling them to "end cycle", meaning telling them to die.
He has personally read written instructions from Senior C/S International, Ray
Mithoff, concerning the following individuals:
- Diane Morrison had cancer. Radiation treatment is forbidden by Scientology.
Ray Mithoff instructed her to end cycle and her husband was ordered to take
her home so she did not die on any Church property.
- Ted Cormier had Parkinson’s disease. He was ordered to Flag for NOTS 34
auditing to cure his cancer. This did not cure it so Mithoff sent him orders
in his preclear file to end cycle. He died.
Jesse viewed a videotape of a television interview of Roxanne Friend. She
had cancer that could have been successfully treated by medical means. She was kidnapped in California and driven across country in a motorhome to
Clearwater where she was held against her will. This prevented her from getting treatment. After she escaped she gave the television interview. She
disclosed she was beyond treatment because of the delay and subsequently died.
Jesse says he witnessed and participated in 4 isolation watches on people having a psychotic break. All psychotic breaks had 3 things in
common, the person was denied sleep for days, the person was given a wrong indication of
their work performance being inadequate, the person was then subjected to further wrong indications in ethics.
The person is locked in a room with two guards at the door. The guards are not allowed to talk to the person in the psychotic break, they are
only allowed to physically restrain the person. They are trained to force the person to consume food and water.
The reason for the guards is that the person wants to leave and makes many attempts to leave. But the guards prevent them from leaving until
the C/S says ok. This is a direct quote from the technical material of the Introspection Rundown:
"Dear Joe. What can you guarantee me if you are let out of isolation? If
the person’s reply shows continued irresponsibility toward other dynamics or fixation on one dynamic to the exclusion of others damaged, the C/S must
inform the person of his continued isolation and why. Example: Dear Joe. I’m
sorry but no go on coming out of isolation yet…"
In 1987 Jesse was assigned to an isolation watch on another Sea Org member in a psychotic break. She fought to escape and had numerous
injuries from beating on walls and the door, trying to get away.
Her mother was desperately trying to find her so during a calm moment Jesse
monitored a call to her mother after telling her what to say. She lied to her mother and said she was ok and when the telephone call started to get
"weird" Jesse ended it. This was a public relations nightmare for Scientology and this was why Jesse had the girl lie to her family about what
was really going on with her.
This went on for 2 months. After the girl was stable for a week, she was made to sign a release form that said Scientology was not responsible
for what happened to her and she was then allowed to go home. Jesse said if he
had not forced the girl to drink water, she would have died.
Jesse then reviewed Lisa McPherson’s auditing files and the isolation watch
"caretaker logs" and her ethics file. The last 3 and ½ days of the caretaker
logs were missing, which is not an accident.
All psychotic breaks cases have their auditing folders sent to the Tech Unit
of RTC for review. It is then returned via the Senior C/S International to ensure compliance to their orders. Status reports would go to
Ray Mithoff, Snr C/S Int and he would take them to RTC. Then, David Miscavige, Ray
Mithoff and Marty Rathbun discuss the various options available to
Scientology on how to deal with the public relations flap. These 3 people would have met and discussed what to do because Lisa was not improving in
isolation and she was a public relations flap since she had removed her clothes and run down the street naked.
From his study of the available records, Jesse concludes that Miscavige, Mithoff, and Rathbun had no option but to let her die in isolation.
They could not take her to the hospital for emergency medical treatment and risk
embarrassing questions from the attending physicians, press, and authorities with likely claims of imprisonment and abuse being made by Lisa upon her
recovery. Thus they chose the "end of cycle" option, which is
permitting and ordering the person to die.
In Jesse’s opinion, Lisa was held against her will in isolation. She was
not improving and her morbid condition was described in the caretaker logs.
Rather than face the public relations flap, Miscavige, Mithoff and Rathbun ordered her death, it was no accident.
Note: Lisa McPherson died a slow death. The Corner found her death was due to
dehydration.
My fellow Scientologists: Let’s not allow Miscavige to get away with this.
If you have knowledge that proves his crimes here – turn him in and put him behind bars.
If you fail to do that, the next person’s blood on his hands, will be blood on yours too. (Criminal
Time Track: Issue III, (32, 77))
BBC News Online: World: Europe: Published at 18:29 GMT 19:29 UK
Scientology trial opens in France
Seven members of the Church of Scientology have gone on trial in France on
charges of fraud.
The trial, in the southern city of Marseille, has led to renewed calls for
the banning of Scientology in France, which officially regards it as a
dangerous cult rather than a religion.
The charges against the seven defendants - who are alleged to have obtained
large sums of money from fellow sect-members by fraudulent means - date back
to the late 1980s.
The case opened amid controversy over the disappearance of 50 boxes of
evidence from the Marseille prosecutor's office.
Justice Minister Elisabeth Guigou - who has said France might
consider banning the sect - said the loss of the files was simply a mistake.
The church says they have been deliberately destroyed.
But it is the third time in a year that evidence against Scientologists in
France has disappeared.
The court rejected a defence bid to have the case postponed because the
loss of the files would "make a fair trial impossible".
'A Roman circus'
The church itself - which claims some 40,000 adherents in France - has
accused the French government of "trying to turn the justice system into
a Roman circus.
"For 10 years, these defendants have been subjected to outrageous
harrassment - jail, hysterical media for the last month, and then the very
files that would prove their innocence were destroyed," said Heber
Jentzsch, President of the Church of Scientology International.
The group - which figures on a government list of 173 to be tracked and
deterred from practising cult activities - says its members are subjected to
slander and persecution.
Popular with Hollywood stars
Scientology - founded in 1954 by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard -
teaches that technology can expand the mind and help solve human problems.
The sect has many high-profile Hollywood adherents, including John
Travolta, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
In the United States, the Church of Scientology is regarded as a religion.
However, a global report on religious freedom by the State Department
said the group continued to report discrimination and harassment in some
European countries, including Germany where it is viewed as a criminal
organisation.
Jail sought against French Scientologist - Web posted at: 12:43 PM EDT
(1643 GMT)
MARSEILLE, France (Reuters) - A state prosecutor Wednesday asked a court to
jail a former leader of the Church of Scientology in France in a fraud trial.
The prosecutor recommended that Xavier Delamare, a former leader of
the church in southeastern France, be sent to prison for 18 months, with
another 18 months suspended, and a 200,000 franc ($32,000) fine.
Delamare, 42, and six other church members were on trial in this southern
port city for fraud, violence and illegally practicing medicine in connection
with courses in spiritual purification organized for church members.
The trial opened Monday and is expected to end by Thursday. The charges
carry a maximum five-year sentence.
The prosecutor asked the court to condemn five other defendants to two
years suspended and denial of civil rights for five years. He sought a nominal
sentence against the last defendant, Dominique Pons, who has turned against
the movement.
The Church of Scientology has denied the charges and accused French
authorities of harassment.
The trial has been marred by the disappearance of legal evidence. The
disappearance was blamed by French authorities on a court clerk's mistake.
Judge Marie-Annick Varlamoff has rejected the defendants' arguments
that the disappearance of documents made a fair trial impossible.
Copyright 1999 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
David Miscavige files an affidavit in the Wollersheim case in California: (Criminal
Time Track: Issue III, (37))
"RTC is exclusively concerned with the orthodoxy of the Scientology religion
so that it forever remains faithful to the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, the Founder of the religion and the one source of its Scriptures."
"As Chairman of the Board, the most senior position in RTC, I am
uniquely interested in the standard application of the Scripture of Scientology as
detailed in Hubbard Communication Office Policy Letters and Hubbard Communication Office Bulletins and the spoken words of Mr.
Hubbard on the subjects of Dianetics; and Scientology as recorded on audio tape, video,
film and in written transcriptions of these materials. I inspect and correct departures from the standard application of the Scripture of the religion. I
also ensure that any attempted perversion of the technology of Dianetics and Scientology is rapidly dealt with, to keep the religion pure so that all
people may benefit from the application of Mr. Hubbard’s breakthroughs in the fields of the mind, the spirit and life."
"My role is described above. Mr. Hubbard was the Founder of the religion
and the sole Source of its Scripture. A primary and fundamental doctrine of our faith is that the teachings be kept pure and that the only source of those
teachings is Mr. Hubbard. Indeed, my role encompasses the responsibility of seeing the religion does not lose its original teachings and that no one
ever assumes Mr. Hubbard’s role as the source of its religious
teachings."
Note: You see, he does know what his hat is. And, his and RTC’s betrayal of LRH’s
trust to do the above, puts them in a condition of Treason. But let’s go on
and see what else David says…
"The GO operated in complete secrecy and conducted its affairs
independently of other church personnel."
Note: So does Religious Technology Center and Church of Spiritual Technology.
"There were also examples in which GO staff had used unscrupulous means
to deal with people perceived as enemies of the religion – means that were completely against Scientology tenets and policy, not to mention the
law."
Note: There are plenty of entries on this time track that shows Miscavige
and RTC doing the same thing. In fact, there are many cases on this time track where they have had to pay out millions of dollars in parishioners
donation’s because they were found guilty in courts of doing just exactly that. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what your fees buy…
"Such treatment was also the GO’s response to church staff members who
inquired into their activities or were perceived by the GO to be interfering with GO affairs."
Note: Once again, Miscavige has done this too. Take his expelling of about 600
people at the mission holders conference as an example. Take the hundreds of people he has expelled since then simply because they challenged his
squirreling of tech or policy.
Also, he has used intelligence black operations on some of these people after expelling them. Again resulting in wasting millions of dollars of
parishioner’s donations to defend lawsuits and pay for settlements and awards against Scientology. To make it worse, none of it should have
happened in the first place – because they were right! You are squirreling the tech! (Criminal
Time Track: Issue III)
RUSSIA: Russia Scientologists face Moscow teaching ban. - By Michael Steen
- Reuters English News Service - (C) Reuters Limited 1999.
MOSCOW, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A Russian branch of the U.S.-based Church of
Scientology is threatened with closure after a court foundit guilty of
teaching without a licence, a judge said on Thursday.
The Hubbard Humanitarian Association branch of the international
group - founded on the teachings of science fiction writer L. RonHubbard -
fellfoul of complex laws requiring all organisations conducting
teachingcourses to obtain a permit.
"The court has declared the registration illegal and ordered the
foundersto liquidate their organisation," Judge Oleg Denisevich of
Ostankinsky District Court told Reuters.
Alexei Danchenkov at the Hubbard Humanitarian Centre admitted the
group had made some minor errors when applying for a permit in 1993, but said
these had been corrected in 1997.
"The case is not closed, we are going to appeal. The judge was not
objective," he said.
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH WELCOMES RULING
Russia's mainstream Orthodox Church, long outspoken in its
condemnation of attempts by alternative religions to win over parishioners,
welcomed the ruling.
"Our church is strongly critical of them (the Church of
Scientology),"said spokeswoman Yelena Spiranskaya. "We define
them as a totalitarian sect."
Scientology branches have been investigated by police in countries across
Europe, particularly Germany, where supporters likened themselves to Jews
being persecuted during the Nazi era.
German officials say the group is no more than an economic organisation
exploiting its members for profit.
Members of Scientology take personality tests and are then invited to pay
for courses and literature which the group says helps them realise their full
potential.
The doors to Moscow's Hubbard Humanitarian Association do not risk being
shut until after the group has had a chance to appeal to a highercourt in the
next few weeks.
The Church of Scientology 's Moscow offices were raided by police armed
with automatic weapons and bulletproof vests in February, but there was no
official word on whether this was linked to the court case.
It has not all been bad news for the group, which counts film stars
TomCruise and John Travolta among its members.
Moscow's popular radio station Ekho Moskvy announced onWednesday
that L.Ron Hubbard had come first in a poll of listeners to find the
"Personality of the Century".
He beat Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Mother Theresa of Calcutta
to the number one spot.
The Moscow Times Page 3 - Church of Scientology Has License Revoked -
Oksana Yablokova
The Moscow center of the Church of Scientology, a controversial
international organization, has lost its license after a city district court
ruled that the group's registration documents were not in order.
The Humanitarian Hubbard Center, which has been operating in Moscow
for six years, said Wednesday's ruling was politically motivated and part of a
Russian Orthodox Church effort to limit the influence of other faiths.
Prosecutors say they first began looking into the center's activities about
two years ago after receiving dozens of complaints from parents about the
Scientologists' methods of teaching their children.
Earlier this year, the city prosecutor's office and the tax police raided
the center's office in northeast Moscow, confiscating boxes of paperwork.
"We examined their documentation and found they had broken the law
when registering," Yevgeny Manerkin of the prosecutor's office
said Thursday.
In the registration documents submitted to the Justice Ministry, three of
the 10 people listed as founders of the center were found to have no
connection to it at all, Manerkin said.
Center spokesman Alexei Danchenkov said the documents were corrected
in 1997, when the group reapplied for registration, but the prosecutor at the
trial persisted in referring to the original documents.
He said the center, which is registered as a nonprofit organization, was
also under investigation by the tax police.
Danchenkov said he believes the Scientologists are being targeted for
political reasons.
"These are methods of eradicating nonprofit organizations and are tied
to the ongoing struggle of the Orthodox Church to re- establish its complete
dominance," he said.
Russia adopted a new law in 1997 limiting the activities of nontraditional
faiths, which has been used to crack down on religious groups.
The Church of Scientology was founded by science fiction writer L. Ron
Hubbard in the 1950s and now claims to have 8 million followers worldwide. Its
headquarters are in Los Angeles.
Hubbard's books, most prominently the basic Scientological text
"Dianetics," are published in more than 30 languages and distributed
in over 100 countries.
Scientologists call themselves a religious group and the group is
registered as such in the United States and Australia. European countries have
largely refused to grant Scientology tax-free religious status and the group
has faced a number of high-profile trials, particularly in Germany and France.
In 1996, the German government announced it was starting a federal campaign
to keep Scientologists from certain public jobs such as counseling and
teaching.
The Humanitarian Hubbard Center in Moscow holds classes for about 200
students a week in spiritual self-improvement. The center also sells a large
quantity of books written by Hubbard and collects membership dues.
The center was still operating Thursday with students attending the
classes. The Scientologists have 10 days to appeal the Ostankinsky district
court's decision, which Danchenkov said they will do.
"We will keep fighting. I'm sure we will be able to protect
thecenter," he said.
U.S. Congress:
Representatives of the U.S. Congress have again introduced a bill
criticizing Germany for its treatment of Scientology and other cults. From the
chairman of the House International Relations Committee, Benjamin A.
Gilman:
"The problem of religious intolerance in Europe is widely recognized,
even in Europe itself. It should be obvious -- especially to Europeans –
that intolerance is much more harmful than is any so-called harm that may
arise from adherence to one or another of the many new religions that have
arisen in the world in the past few years. 'Germany is a country that should
to be a leader in tolerance, and ought to be setting an example.
Sadly, it is not doing so. Indeed, not only have countries such as Austria,
Belgium, and France joined in its efforts to suppress disfavored groups on the
basis of their religion or belief, but newly-developing democracies in Eastern
Europe are following Germany's example. 'As recently as this week I have
personally asked German government officials to open a dialogue, in
particular, with Scientologists, which seems to be the group that they are
most anxious about, but I have been rebuffed, as has the United States
government when it made the same request. 'And so I will be joining in
co-sponsoring a resolution on this subject, and will work to find other
opportunities to use my influence to foster an atmosphere of tolerance of
differences on the grounds of religion or belief."
From United Press International:
"The United States has 'been a little weak-kneed' about putting
pressure on the German government to be more sincere about letting people
worship how they like, said the bill's House sponsor, Rep. Matt Salmon,
R-Ariz., a Mormon who has also worked on religious freedom issues in China.
Salmon added that the documented intolerance against Scientologists and others
in Germany should not be overlooked simply because it is a U. S. ally.
"The resolution calls on the German government to prevent further
discrimination, according to international agreements, and to open a dialogue
with minority religious groups. Salmon introduced a similar measure in 1998,
but it was defeated soundly on the House floor. Actress Anne Archer, a
Scientologist who has addressed officials in Europe and elsewhere on religious
freedom, represented Hollywood at Thursday's Capitol Hill event. 'If we do not
insist that democratic governments abide by their human rights commitments,
then we will be ignored when we try to remedy abuses by totalitarian regimes,'
said Archer, who has starred in films such as 'Patriot Games' and 'Fatal
Attraction.'"
Arnie Lerma reported on the news conference to announce the introduction of
the bill.
"Arriving at the press conference at a few minutes before 2 pm, I was
greeted at the door by a Scientology 'David Miscavige clone' John Terbush, who
tried to prevent my entry. He accused me of wanting to create a scene.
I told him I had no intention of disrupting his dog and pony act, and
brushed him off, and entered. Opening statements reveal that they have only 48
co-sponsors for this tacit endorsement of Scientology's worldwide history of
criminal activity. Down from 62 co-sponsors for previous Travolta show.
"After fifteen minutes or so, I took my jacket off. And was
immediately asked to step into the hall, where the Capitol Police politely
asked me to provide ID, and indicated that they had been notified that I
planned to create some disturbance. And that under the the rules of Congress
posters and placards were not allowed. Perhaps it was the red on white
Scientology KILLS T-Shirt. After I told them about the visit to my home a few
weeks ago by the FBI Anti-Terrorist Task force and the phone conversation with
Agent O'Conner indicating that the Bureau suspected $cientology of providing
the fake anonymous report, as well as the FACT that Scientology was convicted
in the largest domestic spying case in US history AND that they did JAIL TIME.
When I said JAIL TIME, both he and his Commander's attitude became very
cooperative, and both took copies of The Art of Deception. Thierry DuChanac
was seen to throw up his hands as I was allowed to re-enter what Scientology
had hoped to be a one line show for them.
"And I reentered the room, and went up to one of the cameramen who was
still running his camera, explained what happened, and his camera then zoomed
in on: SCIENTOLOGY: WORSE THAN YOU THINK! and the People Against Scientology
logo may make it to the evening news in Germany, showing truth crushing a
swastika. [I] gave the Aide a copy of my flyers and Art of Deception, telling
him simply, 'I was just asked to leave the Press conference, your chairman
needs to understand exactly what he has stepped in.
"Scientology listed the following 'AUTHORITIES' for references to back
up today's pony show.
- Dr. David Little, Professor of the Practice in Religion,
Ethnicity and International Conflict, Harvard University;
- Massimo Introvigne,
CENSUR, Director Center for Studies on New Religions, Torino ITALY;
- Dr. Derek
Davis, Director JM Dawson Institute of Church State Studies Baylor University;
-
Dr. Jeremy Gunn, former US State Department Religious freedom office;
- Judah
Schroeder, Director International Affairs, Jehovah's Witnesses;
- Lee Boothby
President, Int. Commission on freedom of Conscience Wash DC;
- Dr. Cole Durham,
professor, Law School, Brigham Young University Provo Utah;
- Dan Fefferman,
Exec Dir Int Coalition for Religious Freedom;
- Dr. James Richardson, professor,
Sociology and Judicial Studies, University of Nevada;
- Dr. J. Gordon Melton Ex
Dir American Branch of CENSUR;
- Khaled Saffuri ED Islamic Institute Wash
DC."
Der Tagesspiegel reported on the hearing in an October 23rd article.
"On Thursday afternoon, a phalanx of American representatives, backed
by Hollywood celebrities, sharply attacked the Federal Republic of Germany.
The majority Republican politicians let it be known that a new resolution
which was extremely critical of Germany would be brought before Congress.
What's new this time around, though, is that the 'undisputed leadership
role of Germany in Europe' is alleged to be responsible for the suppression of
freedom of religion by 'other governments such as Poland, France and Denmark
who are, regrettably, trying to imitate the Federal Republic.' Other than
that, the accusations are nothing new.
"Among other things, the representatives said: 'hate is taught in
German schools,' 'the government's persecution of minority religions has
destroyed many artistic careers,' 'thousands need our help, because their
voices are being suppressed in Germany.' Republican Mark Foley from Florida
threatened to make freedom of religion in Germany a theme at the World Trade
Organization (WTO). He also said that Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Orthodox
Jews and Evangelical Christians were discriminated against in the Federal
Republic of Germany. He said it was 'shocking that something like this could
happen in a democracy.' California Democrat Xavier Becerra asserted that
hundreds of Americans were denied entrance into Germany because they were
Scientologists or members of other small religions. Matt Salmon, Republican
representative from Arizona and himself a Mormon, gave his impression that the
federal government was less of a problem than were state and local
governments. Salmon asserted that jazz musician Chick Corea was stopped from
entering the Federal Republic of Germany.
"Gilman and Salmon said afterwards to the 'Tagesspiegel' that they did
not know of a single actual case where Americans could not travel to Germany
because of their religious affiliation. He said that Corea had not obtained
the permit he needed to appear for a concert in Germany. In response to the
question as to what kind of permit a musician needed to appear in Germany,
Representative Salmon said, 'That is just what Chick Corea told us.'" (ARS
Week in Review)
Detroit News: Officials deny church's charitable status
LONDON -- Government officials denied the Church of Scientology charitable
status on Thursday, saying it does not provide any public services.
Scientologists said they would appeal the decision, announced by the Charity
Commission, which regulates charities in England and Wales. The commission
said the church did not meet the essential test for charitable status --
"that of conferring public benefit." It said Scientology activities
"were private in nature and in the benefit they delivered." The
Church of Scientology, which says it has 100,000 adherents in Britain, has had
increasing friction with the British government.
Scientology leader can be named defendant in Florida death case
December 15, 1999 - Web posted at: 10:08 AM EST (1508 GMT)
TAMPA, Florida (AP) -- A Florida judge has ruled that Scientology leader David
Miscavige can be named as a defendant in a lawsuit over the death of a
church member who spent 17 days in isolation at a church retreat.
Lisa McPherson, 36, died December 5, 1995, as church staffers took
her to see a Scientologist doctor. An autopsy found she died of a blood vessel
blockage in her left lung caused by severe dehydration and bed rest.
Scientology officials said she had been taken to the retreat to recover
from a mental breakdown and had been well cared for.
Her family's wrongful death lawsuit alleges Miscavige "totally
controls" the church and that his ecclesiastical role is part of a setup
to shield Scientology and its leaders from liability.
According to the lawsuit, Miscavige had been informed of McPherson's
deteriorating condition and staffers acted on his orders as she became
psychotic and was "imprisoned."
Hillsborough County Circuit Judge James S. Moody ruled Tuesday that
the leader could be added to the lawsuit. Church leaders said the step could
add years to the case.
Miscavige, 39, took the reins of Scientology in the early 1980s. He is
credited with improving church operations, updating its materials and securing
tax-exempt status from the IRS.
The church was founded in 1954 by the late science-fiction writer L. Ron
Hubbard, who said people gather traumatic memories in past lives that hinder
them in the present. Scientologists believe those memories can be cleared
through church counseling.
McPherson was hospitalized after police found her disoriented after a
fender bender. Several Scientologists showed up at the hospital and checked
her out against the advice of doctors.
Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
A.r.s Week in Review - Double Crossed
Los Angeles' New Times published an article on Scientology's private
investigators, dirty operations and harassment activities.
"Here's why you should be skeptical about what Graham Berry and
Robert Cipriano say about the Church of Scientology: Berry's been after
the church for years, and he makes no secret of his desire to litigate the
45-year-old organization to its knees. For years, he's been known for brash
court strategies meant not only to take a bite out of the church but also to
embarrass it publicly. To a client, he once said: 'My agenda is to bite
Scientology in the butt and to cause it as much grief as possible.' He's also
notorious for phone-book-thick court documents filled with tales of conspiracy
that reach back to Scientology's 1954 founding by the late science-fiction
writer L. Ron Hubbard. Last year, Berry filed a 312-page complaint on behalf
of a former member of the church who claimed he'd been defrauded by everyone
from Scientologist actor John Travolta to President Bill Clinton. In August, a
judge declared Berry a vexatious litigant, a rare penalty handed out to
attorneys who tie up courts with frivolous lawsuits.
"Robert Cipriano, meanwhile, is an admitted liar who says that he
willingly committed perjury last year by lying in a deposition taken under
oath. He was willing to accept financial help for his perjured testimony but
now claims to be doing the righteous thing by speaking out about it.
His own court-filed declarations make him out to be something of a
confused, pathetic loser who is usually either running from a bad situation or
running toward someone who will give him a handout.
"Cipriano says in court documents that five years ago he was duped by
Scientology operatives into making false claims that Berry is a pedophile who
bragged about having sex with boys as young as 12. Those claims ended up on
the Internet, and Cipriano says that Scientology, which considers Berry a
bitter enemy, contacted his colleagues, clients, and friends about them. Last
year, Cipriano says, he was encouraged by Scientology attorneys to testify in
a deposition about his false claims and, when he agreed, Scientology rewarded
him handsomely. Cipriano says that when he agreed to help Scientology destroy
one of its enemies, the church leased him a house and a car, helped finance
his nonprofit business, and paid off a debt that freed him from a felony
probation sentence. Cipriano also says his Scientology attorney rewarded him
with a job at Earthlink, the Internet provider started by Scientologists.
Berry, meanwhile, says the church's harassment has severely hampered his
ability to practice law.
"In 1967, Hubbard issued his 'fair game' policy, which
announced that a suppressive person, or SP, 'may be deprived of property or
injured by any means, by any Scientologist. He may be tricked, sued or lied
to, or destroyed.' Since then, former Scientologists, government officials,
and journalists have claimed to have become targets of 'fair game':
"Paulette Cooper, author of the The Scandal of Scientology,
became the target of Operation Freakout, an attempt by church
operatives to either drive her insane or get her put in prison. The operatives
managed to get Cooper indicted by framing her for making bomb threats against
the church.
She was only exonerated when documents detailing Operation Freakout were
discovered by government agents.
"In Florida, Scientology made the town of Clearwater one of its two
world headquarters. When Clearwater Mayor Gabe Cazares complained about
the church in 1976, FBI documents show the church launched a campaign to
spread rumors about his sex life.
"Scientology's most ambitious crusade was directed at its arch enemy:
the Internal Revenue Service. In 1977, FBI agents raided the Church of
Scientology in both Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., and discovered damning
evidence that, for several years, Scientology operatives in the church's
secretive Guardian's Office had been breaking into the IRS and other federal
offices in Washington and stealing government documents. To this day,
Scientology's pilfering of records, which Hubbard designated Operation Snow
White, is the single largest infiltration of the U.S. government in history.
"Eventually, 11 Scientologists, including Guardian's Office
director Mary Sue Hubbard (wife of the church founder) were sentenced
to prison. 'The crimes committed by these defendants is of a breadth and scope
previously unheard,' wrote U.S. Attorney Charles Ruff in a sentencing
memorandum. 'It is interesting to note that the Founder of their organization,
unindicted co-conspirator L. Ron Hubbard, wrote that 'truth is what is true
for you,' and 'illegal' is that which is 'contrary to statistics or policy'
and not pursuant to Scientology's 'approved program.''
"Scientology officials have argued repeatedly that the 1968 policy
forever ended the practice of fair game, but former high-ranking
Scientologists say the 1968 policy letter was merely a PR tactic and that the
policy has never gone away. ''Fair game' is still in effect. I don't care what
they've said,' says Frank Oliver, who was, until 1993, an operative in
Scientology's Office of Special Affairs, the intelligence-gathering
agency that replaced the Guardian's Office. Oliver and other former
Scientologists tell New Times that OSA picked up where the GO left off,
fair-gaming enemies on behalf of church leaders. Oliver describes his duties
with OSA: 'Spy on people. Gather intelligence. Write reports.' Oliver's last
assignment before leaving Scientology was to help Kendrick Moxon and other
officials establish a special unit to target the Cult Awareness Network
(CAN). Oliver says the goal of the unit was to recruit plaintiffs to sue CAN,
which Scientology wanted to put out of business. Moxon was intimately
involved in the effort that finally did just that. In Oliver's opinion,
there's little doubt that his former colleagues have targeted Graham Berry.
"In his first high-profile case for Scientology, [Eugene] Ingram
took out full-page ads in Eastern newspapers in 1982 looking for information
in a bad-check case. Ingram then went to the press with accusations that
Boston attorney Michael Flynn had concocted a scheme to steal millions
from an L. Ron Hubbard bank account. (Flynn was litigating several cases
against Scientology at the time.) Ingram's chief piece of evidence against
Flynn was a declaration by a man named Ala Tamimi, who said that Flynn had
tried to use his brother to pass a bad check on Hubbard's account. Former
high-ranking Scientologist Stacy Brooks tells New Times that the ads
and the Tamimi declaration were all part of a Scientology scam to ruin Flynn's
reputation -- she knows because she wrote the ads. 'Ingram manufactures
whatever evidence he wants,' she says. Ultimately, Tamimi admitted in yet
another court declaration that he'd been paid by Ingram to write a declaration
falsely accusing Flynn.
"A Chicago teenager, Jonathan Nordquist, says he was convinced
in 1991 to sign a misleading declaration by Ingram. Nordquist testified in a
court case that Ingram paid him $300 just for meeting him to discuss making
the declaration. '[Ingram] said, 'Now this isn't paying you for the
declaration.' He insisted it wasn't. It was just for my time. It is the
highest paying job I ever had,' Nordquist testified.
"In 1994, a warrant was issued for Ingram's arrest on charges of
impersonating an officer after he flashed a badge at a Tampa, Florida, woman
and told her he was a police detective seeking information about a local
sheriff's possible involvement in a prostitution ring.
"In 1995, Rubye Ward, 74, says Ingram identified himself as
'Jack Hoff,' saying he was a former classmate of her son, Grady. She turned
over some photographs of her son, who was an outspoken critic of Scientology
being sued by the church. Scientology officials later admitted in court
documents that Ingram had, in fact, persuaded Rubye to turn over the
photographs.
"When New Times asked Moxon about Cipriano's allegations, he responded
by denigrating Graham Berry and sending over a packet of documents that
described Berry's numerous court sanctions. Moxon said Cipriano's August
declaration was actually Berry's doing and that given the chance, Cipriano
wouldn't back up that declaration's allegations. 'The [August] declaration is
peppered with false statements. You will never get Cipriano to affirm the
contents of the declaration under oath -- he knows it is full of lies,' Moxon
wrote in a letter to New Times. When he was told that New Times had already
spoken to Cipriano, who had repeated verbally what he had written and had
turned over voluminous records to back up his version of events, Moxon started
questioning a New Times writer about his motives. Repeatedly asked to talk
about whether he had leased Cipriano a car and a house and had paid off his
felony debt, Moxon instead questioned whether New Times had paid anyone for
information for this story. (It hasn't.)"
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