Scientology found guilty of fraud in France!!!

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tom

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Scientology found guilty of fraud in France!!!

Post11 Nov 2009

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Church of Scientology found guilty of fraud in France!!!

Judge cites ‘obsession’ with financial gain as group is fined $600,000

Raymond Gellner- Examiner.com Tues., Oct . 27, 2009

Paris, France – On Tuesday a French court convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud and ordered it to pay fines in the amount of 600,000 euros (approximately $900,000). Prosecutors had wanted the group banned from operating in France, but due to a legal loophole the group escaped this ruling. Although, there is a ruling now in place that if the group is again convicted of fraud, it could be banned from the country.

If France was to ban Scientology, it would not be alone. Greece has banned it since 1997, and Germany is considering a ban on it. Individuals within the organization had previously been convicted of fraud. However, this marks the first time that the group itself has been thus convicted. In addition to Scientology’s French Office and its library, six leaders were also found guilty by the three-judge panel. According to CNN, one of the judges stated that if Scientology wishes to continue its activity, it must be “on the correct side of the law.”

The organization is expected to appeal the ruling.

Two of the plaintiffs in the case were women who were recruited into the group, then forced into spending tens of thousands of euros on products from the group. A third plaintiff was a woman who was fired by her Scientologist boss after she refused to undergo the Scientology tests and join the courses. Followers of the organization contend that this court ruling amounts to religious persecution. Eric Roux, a spokesman for the group stated, “It’s run like an Inquisition, [as] if some people did not wake up from the Inquisition time.”

The Church of Scientology was founded in December of 1953 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. This is not the first time that the organization has had legal problems. In 1979 in the criminal case of United States vs. Mary Sue Hubbard et al. several members of the group including Hubbard’s wife were convicted of obstructing justice, burglary of government offices, and theft of documents and government property.

In France as in several other European countries, Scientology is not seen as a religion, but rather as a sect. According to Emma Jane Kirby of the BBC, France sees Scientology as “a purely commercial operation designed to make as much money as it can at the expense of often vulnerable victims.” In the United States Scientology is allowed registry as a religion which gives it all of the tax privileges therein.

jann

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Re: Scientology found guilty of fraud in France!!!

Post12 Nov 2009

France is kicking ass on cults even in the UN, they want all of the cults out!

At least they have the guts to even discuss the dangerous infiltration and influence from cults, if any ... anywhere.

Congratulations to France!! May many take an example from this!!!

audacity

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Re: Scientology found guilty of fraud in France!!!

Post18 Nov 2009

Normally we would frown on governments taking a stand on banning or punishing religious groups as anti-democratic, but why should a spiritual group get away with coercive and misleading practices that any business would be closed down for?
France sees Scientology as “a purely commercial operation designed to make as much money as it can at the expense of often vulnerable victims.” In the United States Scientology is allowed registry as a religion which gives it all of the tax privileges therein.

I suppose the BKs enjoy a "respectable" tax-free status in most countries too?

audacity

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Re: Scientology found guilty of fraud in France!!!

Post18 Nov 2009

Australia follows suit ... Xenophon hits out at Scientology.
audacity wrote:Independent senator Nick Xenophon has accused the Church of Scientology of being a criminal organisation, calling for it to be investigated by police and the parliament. Senator Xenophon on Tuesday used parliamentary privilege to attack the church, after being contacted by a number of former Scientologists who accused the organisation of "shocking" crimes.

"Scientology is not a religious organisation, it is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs," he told the Senate.
"... The letters received by me which were written by former followers in Australia contains extensive allegations of crimes and abuses that are truly shocking - crimes against them and crimes they say they were coerced into committing. "These victims of Scientology claim it is an abusive, manipulative, violent and criminal organisation, and that criminality is condoned at the highest levels."

The South Australian parliamentarian said he had been contacted by a number of former Scientologists, after questioning the organisation's tax exempt status in a recent television interview. Senator Xenophon said their correspondence implicated the organisation in a range of crimes, including forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, embezzlement of church funds, physical violence, intimidation and blackmail. "I am deeply concerned about this organisation and the devastating impact it can have on its followers," he told the Senate. He tabled in parliament a number of letters from former members of the organisation, which he said he has passed on to the police.

In one, Paul David Schofield said his first daughter Lauren had died after she was allowed to wander one of the Church of Scientology's Sydney buildings and fell down some stairs. "My wife and I were actively discouraged from seeking compensation from the church," he wrote. "I was also encouraged by church executives to request no coronial enquiry (Sister in charge) into her death, something I stupidly agreed with at that time." Mr Schofield's second daughter Kirsty also died, in this case after ingesting potassium chloride at the family home - a substance he said was used widely in the organisation's "purification" programs.

In another letter, Aaron Saxton said as a member of the organisation he participated in the "forced confinement and torture" of others. He wrote that Scientologists considered to be "underperforming" were placed on diets of beans and rice for up to two weeks at a time, and they were also not allowed to access medications or undergo procedures such as pap smears. Senator Xenophon said many names had been erased from the letters he had tabled. "But those names haven't been removed from copies I am providing to the police," he said. "This organisation must be investigated."

Senator Xenophon also called for a Senate inquiry into the Church of Scientology's tax exempt status in Australia. The Church of Scientology said the comments were "an outrageous abuse of parliamentary privilege". "Senator Xenophon is obviously being pressured by disgruntled former members who use hate speech and distorted accounts of their experiences in the church," the organisation said in a statement to AAP. "They are about as reliable as former spouses are when talking about their ex-partner. "This is a propaganda campaign that would suit a totalitarian regime, not Australia, a country that recognises freedom of religion."
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Mr Green

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Re: Scientology found guilty of fraud in France!!!

Post20 Nov 2009

I used to regularly drive past a Scientology shop in London, on Tottenham Court Road, I believe.

In the summer, I've seen them sitting outside with their lie detectors, or whatever it is, trying to capture passer-bys.

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