-- French government pays front groups to bring trumped-up cases --
Responding to a decision today in a Paris court, the Church of Scientology
International stated that the ruling is a politically motivated miscarriage of
justice. Its main effect will be to ensure that despite rising crime,
perpetrators will get away because the courts are clogged with such frivolous
cases.
The case involved charges brought against the Church of Scientology and its
president, Marc Walter, under the Data Protection Law.
"The decision is an attempt to apply commercial law to prohibit religious
expression," said Leisa Goodman, Human Rights Director for the Church of
Scientology International. "It is an intolerable interference by the
state with the religious freedom won from 2,000 years of history in
Europe. The Church in France will have a field day on appeal because the
ruling violates the European Convention on Human Rights."
She described the case as a heresy trial and a shameful travesty of
justice. "But we shouldn't be surprised at a time when Jewish
synagogues in France get attacked and neo-Nazis make it to the presidential
run-off. In a more civilized society, the case would never have come to
court."
Ms Goodman said that the case is about two letters inadvertently mailed in good
faith over the course of five years. "Now the courts are likely to
be bogged down in similarly frivolous cases, when they should be delivering
justice to the perpetrators of actual crimes," she said.
The Church in France will appeal the decision.
Ms. Goodman said the case was trumped-up as part of a French
government-sponsored campaign to destroy religious liberty.
"Recent disclosures under the Freedom of Information Act have revealed
that the French government funds the anti-religious hate groups that stirred up
this case, to the amount of 1.8 million dollars per year. And out of a
total of 3,000 complaints filed to the Data Protection Commission in the year
2,000, involving extensive violations, only a minor complaint against the
Church of Scientology was prosecuted," she said.
She added, "The French government was so desperate to bring this bogus
case against the Church that they used a completely discreditable witness, who
was convicted for incitement to murder only four days after testifying for
them."
She said the campaign against religious liberty in France is directed by an
extremist official, Alain Vivien, who heads a so-called "Interministerial
Mission to Combat Sects." International human rights organizations, the
U.S. government religious organizations and many elected officials
have condemned the human rights violations resulting from Vivien's
actions.
"Three weeks ago the French people rejected extremism and intolerance at
the polling booth. We call upon the French government to take that
message to heart. Dismiss Vivien and disband his office," Ms Goodman
said.
She said that the decision will have no impact upon the Church of Scientology
in France. "We will continue our anti-drug and human rights
activities while exposing the fanatics who perpetrate intolerance and
hatred."
Churches of Scientology have achieved full tax-exempt status in the United
States as religious and charitable organizations; religious
recognition in Canada, Sweden and South Africa; religious recognition by the
Supreme Court of Italy; vindication in the courts in Spain, and
scores of other positive rulings by judicial and administrative bodies
throughout the world, including in France.
The Scientology religion was founded by writer and humanitarian L. Ron
Hubbard. From one church established by Scientologists in 1954, the
Church has grown to 9 million members in 150 countries. The Scientology
religion holds that man is a spiritual being, that he is basically good, and is
capable of spiritual betterment.
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Freedom Magazine, Published by
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