Church of Scientology to be tried for fraud
Monday 08 September 2008
Scientology, which France, unlike the United States, doesn't recognize as a religion, is about to be brought to court for "organised fraud" there. The court will also investigate the role of seven people suspected of illegally prescribing drugs.
Monday 08 September 2008
By AFPThe controversial Church of Scientology will be tried in a French court for "organised fraud" and seven of its members for illegally prescribing drugs, legal sources said Monday.
The charges stem from a case taken by a woman who said she paid the church more than 20,000 euros (28,000 dollars) for lessons, books, drugs and an "electrometer," a device which the church says can measure a person's mental state.
She allegedly made the payments after being approached by Scientologists in a Paris street in 1998.
The case to be examined at a still-unknown date by the Paris court is also being taken by another plaintiff and by France's professional pharmaceutical association.
Founded in the United States in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, the church, which has attracted Hollywood stars such as Tom Cruise, was officially recognised as a religion there nearly 20 years later.
But it is often accused in France and in other European countries, including Belgium, Germany and Greece, of exploiting its members financially.
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