French Church of Scientology Convicted of Fraud
November 9, 2009 by Francesca Cheli
Filed under Current Events
Two branches of the Church of Scientology’s operations and a few of its French leaders have been fined according to BBC News. A case against the organization came to French court after two women filed complaints. One woman alleges she was sold expensive life-improvement courses, vitamins and other products after taking a personality test. Another said her Scientologist boss fired her after she refused to undergo testing and sign up for courses. The organization denies that any manipulation took place.
A Paris judge ordered the Church’s Celebrity Center and a bookshop to pay a 600,000-euro fine. The group’s head in France, Alain Rosenberg, received a two-year suspended jail sentence and was fined 30,000 euros. Three other leading members of the group were also fined.
France considers the Church of Scientology a sect, not a religion. Prosecutors requested that French operations of the group be banned and fined more heavily, but a loophole prevented a ban. Tommy Davis, spokesman for the Church of Scientology International, said the court had acted “in total violation of the European Convention on Human Rights and French constitutional guarantees on freedom.”
Click here for the complete report from the BBC
