A place to learn more about the ATL protests against the Cult of Scientology
The Cult convicted of Fraud AGAIN!!!!!!!!
First Article:
original here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091027/ts_nm/us_france_scientology_ruling
article here:
By Thierry Leveque Thierry Leveque – 2 hrs 53 mins ago
Quote
PARIS (Reuters) – A Paris court on Tuesday fined the French branch of the Church of Scientology a total of 600,000 euros ($902,200) after finding it guilty of fraud but allowed the group to continue operating in France.
When the hearing opened, there were expectations that the court could order the group to be banned in France but due to a mix-up over a law that passed in parliament just before the start of the trial in May, that option was ruled out.
The legislation has since been changed back to allow the dissolution of an organization found guilty of fraud but because of the timing of the case, there was no question of forcing the Church of Scientology to be wound up.
"It is very regrettable that the law quietly changed before the trial," Georges Fenech, head of the Inter-ministerial Unit to Monitor and Fight Cults, told television station France 24.
"The system has now been put in place by parliament and it is certain that in the future, if new offences are committed, a ban could eventually be pronounced," he said.
The court handed down suspended prison sentences ranging from 10 months to two years and fines of 5,000 euros to 30,000 euros to four leaders of the group in France.
"This is an important and historic decision because it is the first time that Scientology has been found guilty of involvement in organized fraud," Olivier Morice, one of the lawyers for the civil parties to the case told reporters.
CELEBRITY MEMBERS
The case was brought by two former members who said they were cajoled into spending 21,000 euros and 49,500 euros on personality tests, vitamin cures, sauna sessions and "purification packs."
Scientology, which is officially considered a sect in France, denies fraud and is expected to appeal.
Registered as a religion in the United States, with celebrity members such as actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, Scientology enjoys no such legal protection in France, where it has faced accusations of being a money-making cult. The trial, which began on May 25, centers on complaints made in the late 1990s.
The prosecutor had recommended that the Paris court dissolve the church's French arm.
But it emerged during the trial that the Church of Scientology could not be dissolved in France even if it had been convicted of fraud, due to an amendment to legislation which passed unnoticed just before the trial began.
Scientology has faced numerous setbacks in France, with members convicted of fraud in Lyon in 1997 and Marseille in 1999. In 2002, a court fined it for violating privacy laws and said it could be dissolved if involved in similar cases.
($1=.6650 Euro) (Writing by Sophie Taylor)
2nd Article
original here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33490266/ns/world_news-world_faith/
Original Article here:
Quote
PARIS - A Paris court on Tuesday convicted the [size=100% ! important][color=darkgreen ! important]Church of [size=100%]Scientologyhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif
Scientology Found Guilty Of Fraud In France
[/size][/color][/size] of fraud and fined it more than half a million euros — but stopped short of banning the group as requested by prosecutors.The group's French branch immediately announced it would appeal the verdict.
The court convicted the Church of Scientology's French office, its library and six of its leaders of fraud. Investigators said the group pressured members into paying large sums of money for questionable financial gain and used "commercial harassment" against recruits.Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad heredap('&PG=NBCMSN&AP=1089','300','250');
The group was fined euro400,000 ($600,000) and the library euro 200,000. Four of the leaders were given suspended sentences of between 10 months and two years. The other two were given fines of euro1,000 and euro2,000.
The court did not order the Church of Scientology to shut down, ruling that it would be likely to continue its activities anyway, "outside any legal framework."
Prosecutors had requested that the group be dissolved in France and be fined euro2 million.
The Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology, founded in 1954 by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, has been active for decades in Europe, but has struggled to gain status as a religion. It is considered a sect in France and has faced prosecution and difficulties in registering its activities in many countries.
Defense lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve said during the trial that neither the Church of Scientology nor the six leaders on trial had gained financially from the group's practices.
Click for related content'Crash' director Haggis quits ScientologyThe original complaint in the case dates back more than a decade, when a young woman said she took out loans and spent the equivalent of euro21,000 on books, courses and "purification packages" after being recruited in 1998. When she sought reimbursement and to leave the group, its leadership refused. She was among three eventual plaintiffs.
Investigating judge Jean-Christophe Hullin spent years examining the group's activities, and in his indictment criticized what he called the Scientologists' "obsession" with financial gain and practices he said were aimed at plunging members into a "state of subjection."
The Church of Scientology teaches that technology can expand the mind and help solve problems. It claims 10 million members around the world, including celebrity devotees Tom Cruise and [size=100% ! important][color=darkgreen ! important]John [size=100%]Travoltahttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif
Scientology Found Guilty Of Fraud In France
[/size][/color][/size].
Belgium, Germany and other European countries have been criticized by the [size=100% ! important][color=darkgreen ! important]U.S. State [size=100%]Departmenthttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif
Scientology Found Guilty Of Fraud In France
[/size][/color][/size] for labeling Scientology as a cult or sect and enacting laws to restrict its operations.
original here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091027/ts_nm/us_france_scientology_ruling
article here:
By Thierry Leveque Thierry Leveque – 2 hrs 53 mins ago
Quote
PARIS (Reuters) – A Paris court on Tuesday fined the French branch of the Church of Scientology a total of 600,000 euros ($902,200) after finding it guilty of fraud but allowed the group to continue operating in France.
When the hearing opened, there were expectations that the court could order the group to be banned in France but due to a mix-up over a law that passed in parliament just before the start of the trial in May, that option was ruled out.
The legislation has since been changed back to allow the dissolution of an organization found guilty of fraud but because of the timing of the case, there was no question of forcing the Church of Scientology to be wound up.
"It is very regrettable that the law quietly changed before the trial," Georges Fenech, head of the Inter-ministerial Unit to Monitor and Fight Cults, told television station France 24.
"The system has now been put in place by parliament and it is certain that in the future, if new offences are committed, a ban could eventually be pronounced," he said.
The court handed down suspended prison sentences ranging from 10 months to two years and fines of 5,000 euros to 30,000 euros to four leaders of the group in France.
"This is an important and historic decision because it is the first time that Scientology has been found guilty of involvement in organized fraud," Olivier Morice, one of the lawyers for the civil parties to the case told reporters.
CELEBRITY MEMBERS
The case was brought by two former members who said they were cajoled into spending 21,000 euros and 49,500 euros on personality tests, vitamin cures, sauna sessions and "purification packs."
Scientology, which is officially considered a sect in France, denies fraud and is expected to appeal.
Registered as a religion in the United States, with celebrity members such as actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, Scientology enjoys no such legal protection in France, where it has faced accusations of being a money-making cult. The trial, which began on May 25, centers on complaints made in the late 1990s.
The prosecutor had recommended that the Paris court dissolve the church's French arm.
But it emerged during the trial that the Church of Scientology could not be dissolved in France even if it had been convicted of fraud, due to an amendment to legislation which passed unnoticed just before the trial began.
Scientology has faced numerous setbacks in France, with members convicted of fraud in Lyon in 1997 and Marseille in 1999. In 2002, a court fined it for violating privacy laws and said it could be dissolved if involved in similar cases.
($1=.6650 Euro) (Writing by Sophie Taylor)
2nd Article
original here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33490266/ns/world_news-world_faith/
Original Article here:
Quote
PARIS - A Paris court on Tuesday convicted the [size=100% ! important][color=darkgreen ! important]Church of [size=100%]Scientologyhttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif
Scientology Found Guilty Of Fraud In France
[/size][/color][/size] of fraud and fined it more than half a million euros — but stopped short of banning the group as requested by prosecutors.The group's French branch immediately announced it would appeal the verdict.
The court convicted the Church of Scientology's French office, its library and six of its leaders of fraud. Investigators said the group pressured members into paying large sums of money for questionable financial gain and used "commercial harassment" against recruits.Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad heredap('&PG=NBCMSN&AP=1089','300','250');
The group was fined euro400,000 ($600,000) and the library euro 200,000. Four of the leaders were given suspended sentences of between 10 months and two years. The other two were given fines of euro1,000 and euro2,000.
The court did not order the Church of Scientology to shut down, ruling that it would be likely to continue its activities anyway, "outside any legal framework."
Prosecutors had requested that the group be dissolved in France and be fined euro2 million.
The Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology, founded in 1954 by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, has been active for decades in Europe, but has struggled to gain status as a religion. It is considered a sect in France and has faced prosecution and difficulties in registering its activities in many countries.
Defense lawyer Patrick Maisonneuve said during the trial that neither the Church of Scientology nor the six leaders on trial had gained financially from the group's practices.
Click for related content'Crash' director Haggis quits ScientologyThe original complaint in the case dates back more than a decade, when a young woman said she took out loans and spent the equivalent of euro21,000 on books, courses and "purification packages" after being recruited in 1998. When she sought reimbursement and to leave the group, its leadership refused. She was among three eventual plaintiffs.
Investigating judge Jean-Christophe Hullin spent years examining the group's activities, and in his indictment criticized what he called the Scientologists' "obsession" with financial gain and practices he said were aimed at plunging members into a "state of subjection."
The Church of Scientology teaches that technology can expand the mind and help solve problems. It claims 10 million members around the world, including celebrity devotees Tom Cruise and [size=100% ! important][color=darkgreen ! important]John [size=100%]Travoltahttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif
Scientology Found Guilty Of Fraud In France
[/size][/color][/size].
Belgium, Germany and other European countries have been criticized by the [size=100% ! important][color=darkgreen ! important]U.S. State [size=100%]Departmenthttp://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/2.gif
Scientology Found Guilty Of Fraud In France
[/size][/color][/size] for labeling Scientology as a cult or sect and enacting laws to restrict its operations.
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