Scientologists on trial for fraud, violence and quackery
SEVEN Church of Scientology officials accused of fraudently obtaining
money from converts and the illegal practice of medicine went on trial in
Marseilles yesterday.
The defendants, five of whom are women, are accused of "embezzlement, the
illegal practice of medicine and violence with premeditation" between 1987
and 1990. They are said to have charged for services like Dianetics,
described as a "mental science" aimed at "suppressing illness and
undesirable sensations".
The prosecution alleged they charged about £120 an hour, with some courses
of treatment in "extreme cases" priced at £1,500. This is the second trial
of Scientology officials in France. The first, in Lyons three years ago,
saw six receive suspended jail sentences on similar charges, with one
sentenced for manslaughter after a convert committed suicide.
The Marseilles trial has been surrounded by scandal after the unexplained
destruction of court documents relating to the case came to light this
month. It resulted from a suit brought 10 years ago by a doctor, Robert
Polguer, who said he had paid £137,000. The three judges retired for four
hours yesterday to consider a defence request for postponement because of
what one lawyer called "a hateful lynching atmosphere in the media." The
request was rejected. The defendants face up to five years in prison and
fines of up to £250,000.
On Sept 8, the justice minister, Elisabeth Guigou, ordered an inquiry into
the destruction of more than three tons of court documents, some of them
evidence collected for the Scientology case. The papers were included in a
consignment destroyed at the end of last year to make room for new files
in the main Marseilles courthouse. It was the second time that legal
documents relating to Scientology in France have disappeared.
Last year, other documents concerning the Church of Scientology -
officially considered a cult in France - disappeared from the Paris Palais
de Justice. That case, Mme Guigou said, was different. Then, "it was not
destruction but a disappearance and that was even more disturbing. Then
there was no question of error".
The prosecutor said the trial would still go ahead as planned but pointed
out that it would be up to the three-judge court to decide on the
importance of the missing papers once the court convened. As the trial
opened, the prosecutor said the documents destroyed were "subsidiary" and
enough evidence remained to put his case.
External Links:
- Press office - The Church of Scientology
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By Julian Nundy in Paris
Telegraph
September 21, 1999
- Scientology and the internet - The Church of Scientology
- The Church of Scientology
- Dianetics: the modern science of mental health - L Ron Hubbard
- L Ron Hubbard Home Page
- The fight against Scientology on the net - Operation Clambake
- The Truth about Scientology
- Australian Critics of Scientology Resource Collection
- Testimony of supporters and critics of Scientology and Dianetics -
Tilman Hausherr
- Cult Information Centre
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