Saturday, March 31, 2012

Conspiracy to Commit Murder.

This is a matter of public record. My question is, why has the U.S. Attorney General not  done anything about this?

 

Deposition with Gary Scarff:

"Q...... do you have any personal knowledge of conspiracies to murder and
suicide with regard to the Church of Scientology?"

A. Yes, I do.

"Q. And what is that personal knowledge briefly? As I say, we will get
into it later. "

A. Through a -- through several conversations by phone, also in a personal
meeting in November of 1991 and in a meeting in December of '91 at the Church
of Scientology Saint Hill organization building, where the Office of Special
Affairs and Bowles & Moxon is actually located, I was directed, one, to go to
Chicago, Illinois and to murder Cynthia Kisser, Cynthia Kisser being the
Executive Director of the Cult Awareness Network, by a staged car accident.

"The suggested method was cutting her brake lines but it was later talked about
that because Cynthia Kisser drives a Ford Bronco that it might not be possible
to cut a brake line, so therefore, I could release brake fluid and tamper with
the vehicle in such a way that it would render it out of control at which time
I would be in a vehicle behind it. I would run her off the road, hopefully
running her into a ditch or into a tree. And then making sure she did not survive
the accident.

"So the suggested ways of following up was to take a pillow and smothering her
to death. Another method was dragging her out of the vehicle and drowning her.
It was also discussed including her young daughter and killing her in the
accident.

"Q. Mr. Scarff, Are you okay to continue?"

A. I didn't know she had a young daughter at the time.

"Q. Would you like to take a break?

= = = "Q. What was said at that meeting by whom?"

A. First David Butterworth recalled my meeting with him. Just prior to that it was
like two and a half weeks prior to that when I first met him at the Cult Awareness
Network conference in Oklahoma City and he recalled our conversation where I asked
him if I was doing all I could to meet their conditions of amending my past where
I was not obedient and where I had cursed the Church of Scientology and where I had
made up lies to hurt the Church of Scientology when I was angry at the world and he
said there was one more thing that they wanted to do. And it was something that
would ultimately bring down the Cult Awareness Network.

"They said that up to that point that everything they had tried to do was not
successful and that they wanted to get rid of Cynthia Kisser once and for all because
she was the whole reason that the Cult Awareness Network existed. She was the glue
that held it together and if they could get rid of Cynthia Kisser once and for all
that there would be no one there competent enough to replace her. And it was Eugene
Ingram that said that Priscilla Coates might step in but that the "old broad" was
"not intelligent enough or didn't have enough time on her hands or something to that
effect that she would be able to walk in and take over for Cynthia Kisser.

"So in order to destroy the Cult Awareness Network all we had to do was destroy
Cynthia Kisser. And I assumed when he said this that he meant simply attacking her
credibility as they have done in the past but doing it with much more vigor than they
have done so in the past.

"Q. What else was said at that conversation, at that meeting?"

A. Only that they talked to me about the specific operation where, if I performed this
operation that if L. Ron was still alive he would be honored to have me at his side
and that Mr. Ingram informed me that David Miscavige was personally aware of this
operation and considered it an honorable role on my behalf, would welcome me with open
arms if I was to perform this operation, and then we got into the specifics of what
they wanted me to do.

"Q. And were the specifics what you testified about with regard to Cynthia Kisser just
before the break -- let me withdraw the question.

"Q. What were the specifics of the operation very briefly?

A. The specifics of the operation was for me to fly to Chicago O'Hare Airport, rent a
vehicle with the information provided to me by the Office of Special Affairs in Los
Angeles and the OSA in Chicago particularly with the tools provided to me by Randy
Kretchmar, who is an official of the OSA in Chicago, to follow Cynthia Kisser home,
run her off the road and take all steps necessary to render Cynthia Kisser dead.

"It was also discussed for a greater impact in these events that if someone within the
Cult Awareness Network got smart enough to replace Cynthia with someone else, and that
if Cynthia Kisser had her daughter with her, it would be an added benefit to kill
Cynthia Kisser and to kill her daughter as well, because when a child dies it carries
a greater impact in the ; minds of the public than if simply an adult dies, and that
would send a message to the Cult Awareness Network that it was time to end their hatred
toward whom they perceived to be }cults.

Q. Now, was Gene Ingram present at that meeting?"

A. He was present, yes.

Q. did he say anything at that meeting?

A. Yes, he did. He told me that there was absolutely no way that I could be held
accountable if I -- there is no way I could be caught -- first of all, that immediately
after I did it I was to fly back to Los Angeles and that Mr. Ingram would be responsible
for putting me into to a safe house and if need be, he could ferret me out of the country
to Brazil or Mexico City or one of the other places that they have established safe houses
at. And that they would keep me there until the steam blew off or until Bowles & Moxon was
successful enough in impeding any type of legal investigation towards me and that I would
be held not accountable for these crimes, and it was specifically discussed that they
would put me into hiding and that any type of criminal investigation that was pending towards
me, any type of legal investigation that may have started as a result of this murder, that
Bowles & Moxon would step in and throw so many legal maneuvers at the courts that there is
no way that I would be eventually prosecuted for this crime. And Eugene laughed and said that
--he said, 'Trust me. I mean the court dockets are so overloaded right now, if Bowles & Moxon
was to throw all these legal maneuvers at the courts there do be absolutely no way that
prosecutors would find the time to want to prosecute you for something like this.

"Q. Now, I think you said that there was some discussion with Mr. Ingram as to how he could
hide you after killing Cynthia Kisser?"

A. Yes. He said, like I said before, he said he had relatives in Brazil. He could get me to
Brazil. I told him that I didn't have a passport because the only places that I have been
out of the country was Mexico and Canada and they didn't require passports. He said he could
provide me a passport. I wouldn't even have to go down to the Post Office and apply for it.
That he could give me one right away.

"And he also said that he had a son in Colorado going to college and that there were places
in around the Denver & Boulder, Colorado areas which could be used as safe houses where they
could hide me.t (Deposition of Garry L. Scarff, at p. 34_, In. 4 - p. 365, in. 9.)

"Q. Now, there is the word "Moxon" in the word Bowlers & Moxon. Do you know who Moxon
refers to?

"A. Yes. That refers to attorney Kendrick Moxon.

"Q. And have you met attorney Kendrick Moxon?

A. Yes, I have.

"Q. And during the worst of your meetings with Kendrick Moxon, have you obtained any
understanding as to part of his background?"

A. Yes, I have.

"Q. And what is that understanding you have as to earlier significant events in his
background?"

A. In both conversations with Mr. Moxon himself, he seems pretty proud of the fact, and in
conversations with Eugene Ingram, David Butterworth and Sue Taylor, who is the Director of
Public Affairs, Church of Scientology in Washington, D.C., Mr. Moxon was one of the original
co-conspirators involved in Operation Snow White against the FBI and the Internal Revenue
Service which resulted in the arrest and conviction of 11 high-ranking members of the Church
of Scientology in Washington, D.C. which also included the imprisonment of L. Ron Hubbard's
wife, Mary Sue Hubbard.

"Mr. Moxon is very proud of the fact that he was intimately involved in that whole unlawful
affair and the FBI never caught him. He is proud of fact that he got away with doing unlawful
stuff and he never got arrested or convicted for it.

"Q. Have you had any conversations with Mr. Moxon in which you gave he that impression?"

A. Yes. I did. When I spoke to Moxon my serious concerns about being caught and prosecuted for
killing both Cynthia Kisser and killing Ford Greene, he mentioned this Snow White operation in
which he was a part of and he tried to assure me there was absolutely nothing to worry about
because I could trust him and I could trust the other legals to help me get away with this.
He claimed there was no way anyone was going to find out.

(Deposition of Garry L. Scarff, at p. 378, in. 18 - p. 380, in. 13.)

Q. Before we proceed with a discussion of the meeting regarding the conspiracy to murder Ford
Greene, I would like to return briefly to the meeting you testified to regarding the conspiracy
to murder Cynthia Kisser.

"Now, did there come a time that weekend or at the end of that weekend when you left Los Angeles?"

A. Yes, I did. I left on Monday.

"Q. And before you left Los Angeles did you have any further meetings at the Church of
Scientology? "

A. Yes, I did.

"Q. And with whom did you have any such further meetings? "

A. Eugene Ingrarn took me upstairs to the offices of Bowles & Moxon because he said that Tim and Kendrick wanted to say good-bye to me because they had not had the chance to speak with me before. And I said good-bye to Tim but Kendrick was in a depo or a session of some sort according to Eugene so I didn't get to see him. But Tim greeted me very warmly and said that he knew that I was there for the weekend but he was busy with stuff and hadn't had the chance to talk with me, and
that was it.

"Q. By 'Tim and Kendrick' who do you mean? "

A. I'm talking about Timothy Bowles and Kendrick Moxon, who are attorneys for Bowles & Moxon, the in-house law firm for Scientology.

"Q. Now, did you have any understanding as to their knowledge, if any, of the meeting you had had
regarding the conspiracy to murder Cynthia Kisser? "

A. I presumed from my knowledge and my experience within the Church of Scientology and the policies that are strictly adhered to within the Church of Scientology that one does not speak on behalf of another, and that when Mr. Ingram and Mr. Butterworth were advising me that once the murder had been committed that we would have Bowles & Moxon intervene on my behalf on a legal basis, I was confident then that Tim Bowles and Kendrick Moxon knew exactly about the conspiracy because Ingram -- Particularly David Butterworth, who is a Scientology member, in the face of being punished with RPF would not compromise his high- ranking position in the Church of Scientology by saying something with regards to Bowles and Moxon unless Bowles & Moxon was specifically aware of the statement that was being made to me.

"And so it was my confident feeling that Timothy Bowles given the fact of the way that he greeted me, said that he knew that I was in L.A., that Timothy Bowles was very knowledgeable about the plan for me to go to Chicago and kill Cynthia Kisser and her daughter." 

Friday, March 30, 2012

Scientology Murder Plot Uncovered

Please bear in mind that this is not a new story.  This testimony was given back in the early 1980's.  Please watch the video of his testimony at the Clearwater Commission Hearings at the bottom of this article.

 

 

CLEARWATER FL. --- In shocking testimony under oath before a packed courtroom
and before a panel of city council members, Scientology management staff member
Scott Mayer, who has been a Scientologist for twelve years, testified to
witnessing numerous felonies committed by the Scientology organization including
extortion, witness intimidation, perjury, international customs and immigration
laws violations, money laundering, framing innocent people of crimes, conspiracy
to impede government agencies, cruel and unusual punishment against Scientology
members, fraud against the United States Postal Service, the ill treatment of
children, slavery, and plotting the murder of various individuals. Mr. Mayer
testified he has personal experience with the Scientology organization in all
of these areas.

"While I was in the Sea Org, I was instructed to kill another human being by the
Scientology organization," Scott Mayer testified. "At the time Scientology had an
office on Beacon Avenue in Los Angeles, very close to McArthur Park. I was called
in for a briefing by Alex Sibryski. At that time, Scientology had a ranch at
Rosarito in Mexico which was being used as a nursery, a place for overflow kids
that could not be housed in Los Angeles and a place to grow fruits and vegetables.
Mexican bandits were allegedly harassing and hustling the ranch and stealing produce
from it. Jerry McDonald and I were asked to put together a mission to go down to
Mexico, take some infrared optics and some guns and rifles, wait for the Mexican
bandits to attack the ranch again and then take care of them. We were told to kill
them if necessary. I received these orders from Alex Sibryski."

Mr. Mayer testified that due to his testimony and his work with the Internal Revenue
Service, he now fears for his life. "In terms of the Fair Game Policy itself, of
course, I have no way of proving that the 'Church' of Scientology blew up my car.
I just have the knowledge within myself that that's where I told them I was and that's
where it got blown up. [Chuckle] The fact that I didn't live there was to my credit,
not theirs. [Chuckle]" Mr. Mayer later added "[I am] fearful for the security and
safety of my mother, sister and friends and discovered through questioning same
that they were all terrified of my involvement in [these matters]... Scientology had
already asked me to kill somebody, so why wouldn't they ask somebody else to kill me,
I reasoned."

Mr. Mayer testified that the Scientology organization drills its staff members on how
to avoid national and international laws and how to "get around" government officials
and legal requirements.

Mr. Mayer is not the only Scientologist who has testified that the Scientology
organization has ordered him to commit murder. Scientologist Steve Fishman has also
sworn under oath to have been ordered to murder his psychiatrist, Dr. Geertz, and
then commit suicide.

"On the basis of my experience and knowledge of Scientology," Scott Mayer said, "I
believe it very possible that Steven Fishman was ordered to engage in the securities
class action fraud by Scientology, and then to murder Dr. Geertz and commit suicide."

Mayer also testified about systemic suicides among Scientologists. "On the basis of
my experience, education and training in Scientology, I believe there is a very
strong connection between Scientology and suicide."

Mr. Mayer left the Scientology organization after he could no longer rationalize the
crimes and abuses he witnessed and engaged in under the orders of his Scientology
bosses. "The reason I left Scientology, by the way, was because of the things that
I saw and participated in through my tenure with the 'Church,'" Mr. Mayer testified.
"It got to the point where I could no longer in my own mind justify what the 'Church's'
policy in handling government agencies and society was; they were allegedly there
to save."

Mr. Mayer said the organization extracted millions of dollars a week from its victims.
"I don't believe for one second that Scientology is a bona fide religion," Mr. Mayer
added.










Did Hubbard Actually Order a Hit?

R2-45 is a Scientology auditing process created by L. Ron Hubbard. The process of R2-45
specifically pertains to shooting the target with a Colt .45 pistol, causing the victim's
"thetan" to leave the body (exteriorization). In 1952 during a meeting in Phoenix, Arizona,
Hubbard demonstrated the process of R2-45 by firing a shot at the floor. In a lecture of
1958, Hubbard comments that "Death is not the same as clearing but there is, remember,
R2-45. It's a very valid technique. A lot of people have used it before now."

“R2-45: AN ENORMOUSLY EFFECTIVE PROCESS FOR EXTERIORIZATION BUT ITS USE IS FROWNED UPON BY THIS SOCIETY AT THIS TIME.”
—L. Ron Hubbard, The Creation of Human Ability
(all caps as per the original)

While representatives of the Church of Scientology have publicly acknowledged that "Auditing
Process R2-45" refers to "someone being killed and [their spirit] leaving the body", they
insist that it was presented as a "jest" or "joke" by Hubbard. In the transcript for the
lecture "Exteriorization", in which Hubbard refers in passing to R2-45, a footnote refers to
the process as being "used humorously".

However, critics of Scientology have pointed out that Hubbard also used it in apparently non-
humorous contexts. On March 6, 1968, Hubbard issued an internal memo titled "RACKET EXPOSED," in which he denounced twelve people (Peter Goodwin, Jim Stathis, Peter Knight, Mrs. Knight, Nora Goodwin, Ron Frost, Margaret Frost, Nina Collingwood, Freda Gaiman, Frank Manley, Mary Ann Taylor, and George Wateridge) as "Enemies of mankind, the planet and all life," and ordered that "Any Sea Org member contacting any of them is to use Auditing Process R2-45." Former Scientologist Bent Corydon wrote that in late 1967 at Saint Hill, he personally received a copy of an order naming four former Scientologists as enemies and "fair game" and ordering any Sea Org member who encountered them to use R2-45.


Many thanks to Robert Peterson for this image:


And from our friends at SkepticTank:


The words "Auditing Process R2-45" refered to by the Scientology crime syndicate's leader means
that the people on the list are to be shot with a .45 caliber firearm. The phrase "Fair Game"
refers to the crime syndicate's tactics of fabricating lies and using the court system to silence
the truth about the cult's activities. Fair Game also includes murdering people, killing their
pets, cutting their break lines, and doing whatever else they can to try to silence the truth
about their scams and criminal behavior.

The Scientology crime syndicate never abolished either Fair Game or R2-45 orders by their dead
leader. Indeed, they're not allowed to inasmuch as such orders from L. Ron Hubbard are considered dictates from deity and discontinueing such criminal behavior would be cause for ending up on the list for termination.

This document was one of many seized by Federal authorities in a series of raids upon the cult's
compounds many years ago. It has now been made public by having been entered into a large number of court documents which cover the criminal, murderous nature of the cult. I have added
commentary to the Federal document since cult-speak is employed and people who are not familiar
with the Scientology cult may need commentary. Commentary is in red.

"...The other is to dispose of them quietly and without sorrow." -- L. Ron Hubbard, Science of
Survival, Chapter 27


                         HCO ETHICS ORDER

To: Those Concerned No. 30 INT E/O No. 28 INT added to From: The Founder

Subject: RACKET EXPOSED 6th March 1968 (BPI and goes in Auditor)

In the cult-speak of the Scientology crime syndicate, an "ethics order" is a written command by
the cult's creator L. Ron Hubbard which every cult follow is ordered to obey upon pain of punishment (reference the cult's "Rehabilitation Project Force" through an Internet search. The cult's RPF is the cult's prison gulag.)


                             FREDA GAIMAN
                             FRANK MANLEY
                             GEORGE WATERIDGE
                             PETER GOODWIN
                             PETER KNIGHT
                             POLLY STATHIS
                             JIM STATHIS
                             MARGARET FROST
                             MARY ANN TAYLOR
                             MRS. KNIGHT
                             NINA COLLINGWOOD
                             NORA GOODWIN
                             RON FROST

 
Note that the cult leader did not indicate the reasoning why these people are targeted for
murder as "suppressive persons" by "Sea Org members" -- a term which will be described shortly.
The cult leader claims they altered or leaked secrets about the cult (more likely the cult's
criminal activities to authorities of family) yet offers no specifics:


    are hereby declared Suppressive Persons for pretending to have and distribute
    forged and altered "Upper Level Materials" which were of a Research
    nature and not for distribution.

All Certificates and Awards are cancelled.

1. Having stolen or illegally procured these dangerous materials (at the instigation of a Psychiatrist) these persons did plot to misuse them to cause Insanity and Death.

The reference to "Psychiatrist" -- capitalized -- indicates a serious mental problem which the cult's
creator suffered from. L. Ron Hubbard had recognized the seriousness of his mental difficulties and had begged for the VA to assist him. Failing to acquire mental help, Hubbard's insanity got worse and his hatred of psychology drives much of the unfortunate occultism and criminal behavior the Scientology cult suffers from today. Every time the crime syndicate's felonies are exposed and followers go to prison, it's the fault of "Psychiatrists" -- capitalized.


2. False report for money that they would furnish the real materials.

3. They are declared Enemies of mankind, the planet and all life.

4. They are fair game.

The phrase "Fair Game" refers to another one of the crime syndicate creator's criminal racketeering orders, official policy which the cult's followers are not allowed to ignore. "Fair Game" in Scientology's cult-speak means, according to Hubbard, that victims of the cult may be lied to, cheated, harassed, and "destroyed utterly" -- with any means possible. The crime syndicate has been hauled up in front of a large number of judges because of the fact that the policy of "Fair Game" proves rackeeting, conspiracy, harassement, and other pre-meditated behavior. The crime syndicate's cult lawyers have tried to demand that such a policy doesn't exist any more yet the cult continues to provide evidence against itself.


5. No amnesty may ever cover them.

6. If they ever come to a Qual Division they are to be run on reverse processes.

7. Any Sea Org member contacting any of them is to use Auditing Process R2-45.

Here's the worse whistle-blowing aspect of this piece of evidence. The so-called "Auditing Process R2-45" is Scientology cult-speak for correcting a "suppressive person" with 2 rounds from a .45 caliber firearm. This "ethics order" created by the cult's leader, L. Ron Hubbard, states that any "Sea Org Member" is allowed to murder the people on the ever-growing list of enemies.

A "Sea Org Member" is a cult follower who has been suckered into the cult so badly that they're willing to murder for the cult -- as is required according to Hubbard. When L. Ron Hubbard and his ship the Apollo was repeatedly run out of every port in the United States (and many other countries) he declaired his ship to be a "Org" -- which is cult-speak for a franchise. Cult followers sign a billion year contract to join the Sea Org, indicating their devotion to the cult and, presumably, their willingness to fufill such "Ethics Orders" as this one demanding murder.


8. The Criminals Prosecution Bureau is to find any and all crimes in their pasts and have them brought to court and prison.

This is cult-speak for harassing people, libeling them, blackmailing them, forging bomb threats purporting to be from them, and staging "operations " attempting to acquire blackmailable materials on them -- just to name a few examples. While L. Ron Hubbard doubtless didn't believe half of the insane frauds he sold to his victims, among one of the biggest whoppers was the claim that anyone who exposes the cult, discloses information to the authorities, speaks openly and truthfully about the cult to the media, family, or friends et al. is some how a criminal. This is a freakish claim that the cult leaders continue to repeat to the popular press even today. Indeed, the cult puts out "help wanted" signs outside of their franchises and, if one fills out the employment form, one gets to see a lot of questions on the form which undeniably prove the criminal nature of the cult. One such question is "Are you an undercover agent for a Federal law enforcement
agency." Real religions and real business don't ask such questions.


The Public Distribution of False or Forbidden or Dangerous Data is a Suppressive Act and a High Crime.

L. RON HUBBARD Founder

Thanks go to the FBI for its 1970's raids of the Scientology crime syndicate compounds which seized such informative documents as this one.


Thursday, March 29, 2012

Two of our Favorite SP's talk about Narconon.

Yes, Narconon is a front group for Scientology.  Here, our good friends David Love and Gerry Armstrong have a chat about Narconon and Scientology and some of the dirty tricks they play with their clients money.  Narconon is not a medically approved treatment program for drug and alcohol addiction, and in fact, parts of the treatment can be deadly.




Until Nothing Remains

Full movie with English sub-titles

This film describes the painful, horrible and criminal realities of the Church of Scientology.  It shows how they suck you in, then slowly indoctrinate you with their Training Routines and "love bombing".  It shows how they get you to commit all of your money and when you can't give anymore, how the snatch you freedom by signing you up on staff.  The movie then shows how they utterly destroy families even going so far as to turn your own children against you.  I would hope that you get everyone you know to watch this film.  The Church of Scientology must be stopped.  It is in German but has English sub-titles.  If you do not see the sub-titles at the bottom of the screen, click on the red "CC" button.



Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Attorney Graham Berry speaks out against Scientology.

The Scientology Task Force for the Hamburg Interior Authority (German: Behörde für Inneres –
Arbeitsgruppe Scientology) was founded in 1992 to monitor the activities and publications of
Scientology, raise public awareness about the organization, and serve as a resource to
Scientology members who may wish to exit the group. The Hamburg government made the
decision to form the task force in 1991, after claiming in public statements that the Church
of Scientology's aims included world domination and the destruction of society. Other
German politicians stated that Scientology planned to infiltrate businesses and the government.
In 2008, attorney Graham Berry traveled to Hamburg to speak to this group.  Listen very well to what he had to say:

 















Tuesday, March 27, 2012

FREE WILL - DENIED

There are some who say that some of the bad things that happen to Scientologists are not the fault of Scientology.  That they were there of their own free will and therefore it was their choice.  This person had no choice.


Translations of two Agence France Press articles posted by Roger Gonnet:

****************

Scientology: a Frenchwoman kidnapped in Sardinia will soon be repatriated

ROME, March 1, 2008 (AFP) - a Frenchwoman, kidnapped in Sardinia by
members of the Church of Scientology and rescued at the end of January by
the Italian police force, will "quickly be repatriated to France", French
diplomatic sources in Rome indicated Saturday.

"The French Consulate in Rome has been following this since the beginning
in close cooperation with the Italian authorities and Martine Boublil will
quickly be repatriated to France", affirmed these sources.

The police in Nuoro (east-central Sardinia), who had rescued the 48 year
old Frenchwoman held under deplorable conditions, informed AFP that Mrs.
Boublil "was still in hospital but that she might leave Sardinia next
week". The prefecture of Nuoro had been alerted by a telephone call
concerning appeals for help coming from a country house located on
Ortobene hill, close to Nuoro.

The police officers had discovered on 21st January Martine Boublil, sister
of Claude Boublil, an important member of the church of Scientology in
France, locked up in a room filled with rubbish. Initially identified as
being of Tunisian origin, she had been found half-naked and sleeping on an
mattress infested with vermin, according to the local police force.

Four French people, a woman and three men, identified as members of the
Church of Scientology and suspected of having detained Martine Boublil
against her will, had been arrested  then, a spokesman of the prefecture
of local police force indicated at the time.

These four people were released ten days ago and have since returned to
France, the same source said Saturday.

The spokesman of the Church of Scientology in France, Daniele Gounord,
invited by the daily newspaper "Le Parisien" to comment, spoke of a
"family drama" and indicated that Scientology did not have "anything to
say" on the question.

"Le Parisien" also reported the testimony of Martine Boublil, who said she
had been "in hell".

She said she had been a Scientology member for eight years before leaving.
Several years later, she was hospitalized for depression. According to
her, her brother (Claude Boublil, one of the organizers of the Scientology
Celebrity center in Paris) made her leave and "took her by force to a
house in Normandy belonging to a scientologist, then to Sarthe and finally
to Sardinia".

In Sardinia, she claims to have been forced to remain locked up in a
"disgusting room" on the first floor of the house, guarded by two young
people who did not speak to her, with a basin for sanitation and only a
tee-shirt for clothing. A woman also lived in the house. She claims to
have written an S.O.S message with lipstick on cardboard which she threw
into the garden of neighbors who alerted the police.

After her release, Martine Boublil was hospitalized in a psychiatric
establishment in Sardinia.

******************************

Fenech (UMP) for a board of inquiry into the Scientology

 PARIS, March 1, 2008 (AFP) - George Fenech (UMP), vice-president of the
parliamentary group on cults, proposed on Saturday the creation of a
parliamentary board of inquiry into Scientology after a Frenchwoman was
held prisoner by members of the cult in Sardinia.

"This recent affair casts suspicion once more on the Church of Scientology
with a French victim, Martine Boublil, claiming serious infringements of
her freedom and her physical integrity, and indicates the real dangers of
this organization", the deputy said in an official statement.

M. Fenech "will present in the French National Assembly a motion for a
resolution creating a parliamentary board of inquiry to determine the real
nature of the activities of this movement, its methods of operation, its
sources of financing and in a more general way if the organization
respects the laws of the French Republic", the text adds.

Martine Boublil, held by force in Sardinia by members of the Church of
Scientology and released at the end of January by the Italian police
force, "will soon be repatriated to France", French diplomatic sources in
Rome indicated on Saturday.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Another Death brought to you by Scientology

After you have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and are in debt up to your eyebrows, how does this "church", help you?  Read on.  It would be bad enough if it were a few isolated cases.  But this goes on all the time in Scientology.  Their policy of secrecy makes it difficult for these stories to get out to the public, but more are coming out all the time.  Click Here to see some of the many deaths directly related to Scientology.


Based upon the story "Death of a Scientologist," by Tori Marlan, Published
in The Chicago Reader August 16, 2002

January 16, 2003
By Rick Ross

Scientologist Greg Bashaw reached far beyond the mythical plateau of achievement
that Scientologists call "clear." Bashaw rose to Operating Thetan Level 7 or "OT7."

The highest level a Scientologist can hope for is OT8.

But after 20 years of Scientology courses, auditing and training Bashaw killed
himself.

He was married and left behind a teenage son. Bashaw was once a successful
advertising executive, but he died broke, deeply in debt and unemployed. And the
church he had dedicated so much of his life to abandoned him through
"excommunication."

Greg's father Bob struggles to understand what happened to his son. He says,
"I knew him and this wasn't him -- What the hell happened here?"

However, Bob knew about his son's dedication to Scientology. Early on Greg
borrowed thousands of dollars from his father for Scientology-related courses.

Bob says Greg used one of the loans to go with Laura to the church's Los Angeles
complex for course work; he paid it back with interest, explaining that he'd felt
pressured by the church to pay. He wrote his father, "Our financial officer for the
Church informed us we would need another $1,700 to pay for the package we were
securing. It was imperative to get it this past week; otherwise the annual price
increase, which he had held off for us through administrative fancywork, would go
into effect. Simply put, if we didn't send the money Wednesday, the prices would
have gone up on us by $500."

Greg's parents were divorced. His mother quickly realized that her son was involved
in something she felt was potentially dangerous. Bob received a letter from his ex-
wife during 1981 citing an article about Scientology in Reader's Digest titled,
"Scientology: Anatomy of a Frightening Cult."

Greg's mother said in her letter that when she'd questioned Greg about the article,
he claimed it was part of a conspiracy contrived against Scientology by
"psychiatrists."

Greg's mother passed away before her son's suicide, but it was clear that she was
deeply concerned about his involvement with Scientology.

Bob instead essentially accepted his son's involvement and did nothing.

Bob knew about Scientology's bad press, but when Greg said the stories about were
not true, Bob accepted it.

Greg unsuccessfully tried to recruit his father.

Bob continued to have nagging doubts, but says, "There wasn't any big red flag that
went up. And that's really what I was looking for."

At times Bob defended Greg to other family members. He said that he would "do battle"
with Greg's aunts. In a letter to one of them he wrote: "The horror stories of
Scientology victims and my imagination, plus what I have read, certainly conjure up
rage and anxiety." But he couldn't bring himself to take any action. He said,
"Integrity does not permit me to have a loving relationship with him while covertly
working against what he sincerely believes in."

Bob concluded that his son was "free to make his own choices in life."

Greg largely cut his mother off after she criticized Scientology. Bob was afraid the
same thing would happen to him. A bitter divorce had isolated him from his other
children, but Greg had been away at college during that period. Bob wondered, "Do
I take this position to not alienate him because he is the one of three children of
mine that I am in touch with? The only one I can share my feelings and he truly
shares his feelings with me? The answer is no."

So Bob decided to remain silent about Scientology.

Greg went to Clearwater, Florida, a bastion of Scientology, to take courses, which
strained his budget. His wife and son did not accompany him because it cost too much.
Money became tight for the Bashaw family, despite the fact that Greg earned a large
income.

However, like most Scientologists Greg thought it was all worth it. He wrote,
"Scientology has saved my ass, that's for sure. Now I'm unstuck, in the know, and working
towards completion. It will be a new life when I get back."

Greg even believed his training enabled him to talk to the dead. He wrote Bob, "It's
easy, like talking on a telephone, when you have the hang of it." Greg didn't divulge
details because his talks with the dead "happened in the context of formal auditing
sessions and so are confidential."

Bob remembers thinking, "What is this crap?" He considered doing something and claims
he knew it was "bullshit." But in the end he did nothing. He rationalized; that maybe
it is possible to speak with the dead?

Greg seemed to have a "good life." Married with a son, living in a two-story house on
16 acres of land in Barrington Hills, Illinois. And he was a highly paid successful
executive at a well-known advertising firm.

But Greg was spending large sums of money on Scientology. Greg not only paid for costly
courses; he donated even more cash to the controversial church. So much that they made
him a "patron" of the International Association of Scientologists.

And Greg Bashaw decided to take on Scientology's critics by harassing them at anti-cult
conferences.

"None of my encounters with Greg were pleasant," says Reg Alev, a former executive
director of the now defunct Cult Awareness Network (CAN), which was bankrupted by
Scientology lawsuits. He says Greg even confronted him on the way to the bathroom,
yelling about CAN being a terrorist organization. Alev adds, "He was extremely
confrontational and loud."

Jim Beebe also once associated with CAN says Greg picketed outside the CAN office and
even outside staff members' homes. In 1992 Greg and other Scientologists sued the group,
claiming religious discrimination, when they were refused membership. And Greg filed a
complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

Cynthia Kisser, executive director of CAN after Alev, said Greg's actions were part of
an organized effort to "harass and disrupt" the network. She says that during the early
to mid 90s Scientologists like Greg filed 50 nearly identical lawsuits and human rights
complaints against CAN. Eventually they were dismissed, but they took their toll on the
organization financially. Scientology eventually sued CAN into bankruptcy.

Greg left one advertising firm for another in 1997, but it was demotion according to his
father. Bob later found out Greg quit after his old firm took on Prozac as a client, a
drug that Scientology's Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) claimed could lead to
"homicidal rages," suicide and had tried to get the FDA to ban.

Scientology believes they have the answers for mental health and are totally opposed to
psychiatry and psychiatric drugs such as Prozac.

Bob says he could tell Greg was changing. His conversation was stilted and often he just
repeated what someone else said. He wasn't his usual self. A former professional associate
characterized Greg as "a deep thinker," but observed that his old friend's "creativity was
not at the same level of consistency." Greg admitted that this was "connected to the auditing.
" Auditing is the intensive question and answer sessions Scientologists undergo with their
"auditors," in an effort to supposedly "clear" themselves.

In September of 2000 Greg Bashaw returned once again to Clearwater for more Scientology
training. His father finally said, "Greg, you're spending a hell of a lot of time down
there. I don't understand it. You're spending time away from your job, and you're spending
time away from your family." But Greg only answered, "You're right, dad. You don't understand
it."

Greg was now an OT7 and he didn't get back from this trip for a month. When he saw his father
again he admitted that he'd been fired from his job.

When Bob met with Greg later after that trip he learned that his son planned to kill himself.
Greg was going to drive to a forest preserve and drink a bottle of Drano. Bob said, "I'm
holding him, and he's saying he failed everybody, he isn't worth anything, he's a total
failure."

Greg's last trip to Clearwater was apparently a disaster. "They threw him out," Bob says.
Greg told his father that his church said they couldn't help him and sent him away, telling
him never to return.

At this point the reality of his son's situation hit Bob hard. He said, "This is when the
whole thing hit the fan with me. I realized what the hell [Scientology] had done to him."

Bob wanted his son to go to a psychiatric hospital and he says Greg's wife agreed. "That
surprised me," Bob said, but it seems by this time Greg's wife had quit Scientology.

Greg checked into the psychiatric ward of a local hospital, such places are anathema to
Scientologists who ardently oppose psychiatry.

The following morning in the psych unit, the first thing Bob told his son was that Scientology
was evil and that it was his enemy. Greg seemed upset by this. "It was as if I'd slapped him
in the face," says his father.

Greg tried to commit suicide twice in the next couple of months. His teenage son found him
the first time on the floor, almost dead. The second time he emailed a suicide note to a
friend who alerted the police. They arrived just in time to save his life again.

Then Greg promised his father he wouldn't try to kill himself again.

A Scientology spokesperson denied that the church excommunicated Greg. She said, "He seemed
to be having some rather large troubles and he left the church to go sort out his life." But
she added, "Frankly, no Scientologist would ever seek psychiatry as a solution to their
problems."

When asked why so many former Scientologists so ardently oppose the church its spokesperson said,
"There's only one reason and one reason only, they have lots of words they don't understand."
A cryptic allusion that whatever failure there was it was a personal failure, rather than
anything Scientology did.

In the Spring of 2001, things seemed hopeful. Greg was working again. An old friend found him a
job. Bob visited with his son and he seemed to be getting better.

But Bob still wondered would he be alright? He wrote his son about a retreat for cult survivors
in Ohio called Wellspring. Greg wasn't interested. He responded that "One of the things that
happens when you have the bad experiences that I've had is that people assume your own beliefs
are faulty." Greg rejected any possibility of professional help Wellspring might offer.

Greg then began to shut down. Phone messages from his father went unanswered and letters were
returned. Greg finally wrote back and explained, "It's almost as if I had a stroke on a mental
and spiritual level, and I have to start with learning how to use a fork again, metaphorically."

Greg Bashaw finally admitted, "For the last 10 years I was fooling myself regarding the services
I was taking [with Scientology], and whether they were advancing me. I wanted them to be... In
retrospect, I would have been better the last ten years to have focused on simply building a
family life, and on work, as most people do... Being on the services the whole time was almost
unbelievably demanding in terms of time, money and commitment. The fact that it did not 'pay off'
has been an exceptionally bitter pill to swallow. The fact that at the end of the road I ended up
in worse shape than I'd ever been in my entire life... well, that has been completely
irreconcilable with any concept of reality."

But Greg seemed to be considering his future, He said, "I would like to get to a point where the
focus of my life is not on my disability. It's been very difficult talking to people lately,
because typically the whole conversation pivots around how well I'm doing or not doing."

But whatever optimism Greg expressed it dissipated by that summer. A former Scientologist he
confided in said Greg told him that he "had broken something that the Church of Scientology could
fix, [but] they weren't going to fix it."

During the last two months of his life Greg had no work. He stayed at home and deteriorated. He
owed the bank $27,000 and $29,000 on credit cards. Bob says that early that year Greg's wife
talked about suing Scientology to recover the money they'd paid in advance for auditing and
course work. Bob says he was told they had "a balance of nearly $200,000 in credit."

However, Greg wouldn't sue. He wrote his father, "It would subject me and my family to a great
deal of shame and embarrassment, and additionally such a stance does not reflect what I believe
to be true."

His old friend got a call from Greg. "He asked me, 'What can I do?' He was in torment. He felt
like he was losing control. I didn't have an answer. I asked him to come here right away." Greg
drove for hours to his friend's home in another town. His friend recalled, "He arrived at my house,
coherent but just barely hanging on. Greg was shaking and had all but lost the ability to function."

Greg agreed to check himself into a hospital. At first he refused medication and counseling. As a
devoted Scientologist he had been drilled to resist the evils of psychiatry.

Bashaw had spent more than 20 years in Scientology. He gave the group everything he had spiritually,
mentally, and financially. He wanted to lose his "reactive mind," but in the end he just lost his
mind. His father says, "There were periods of time he was rational and he realized he was losing
it and it was a terror, a horrible thing to him."

A former long-term member of Scientology explained that the church claims "it has the solution to
all your problems. Then you realize most of the problems you had, Scientology created. That former
member, who met Bashaw concluded, "Greg knew this but couldn't accept it. Greg Bashaw could not let
go of the mental indoctrination he'd swallowed hook, line, and sinker -- he had a hard time
struggling with the fact that he'd been living a lie. Everything he thought was real wasn't real
anymore."

Greg wrote his father for the last time during the summer of 2002, "I wanted to call on Father's Day
but was hospitalized and had no calling card. My condition worsened dramatically three weeks ago.
I have been in the hospital the last two weeks and am now moving to an intensive outpatient status."

But despite his condition Greg still insisted that his wife not sue Scientology. He said, "They would
put 50 lawyers on the case. They would employ private investigators, and the like, to help win their
case. And the stress would be enormous... If you could get her to consider these points, as I have
repeatedly over the last few months, it would be greatly appreciated."

Greg then said, "I told them this morning I still felt depressed and suicidal," and ended cryptically,
"P.S. Thanks for being a great dad."

After leaving the hospital Greg drove to his friend's house and had dinner. It seemed like he was
recovering and he talked about further treatment. But just three days later Greg Bashaw pulled onto
the shoulder of a road, duct taped a hose from the exhaust pipe of his car into a window and sealed it
tightly with a towel. He then sat in the passenger seat until he took his last breath of carbon monoxide.

Greg Bashaw ended his life just like Scientology's founder L Ron Hubbard's son had 25 years earlier.

The police found a suicide note in his hotel room. It said simply, "Goodbye [son], you were a good buddy.
Love dad."

The Introspection Rundown - Against Her Will

Please understand that although this story is over 20 years old, this kind of abuse and worse continues to this day in the Church of Scientology.  Commentaries are in blue and not part of the original news stories.

 

Captivity Case May Be Tied to Faith

January 13, 1990, Los Angeles Times

By John H. Lee and John Johnson, Times Staff Writers

Pomona police said Friday they are investigating whether beliefs espoused by the
Church of Scientology led a family to confine a mentally disabled woman in a cell-
like bedroom at a Phillips Ranch house.

While stressing that neither the church nor its beliefs are under investigation,
police said they want to know if Scientology practices could explain why the woman
was kept in confinement.

Police and Los Angeles County mental health workers discovered Marianne Coenan,
31, locked in a sparsely furnished room with a boarded-up window after they
entered the residence on Jan. 5.

The woman was incoherent and had bruises and scratches on her legs, wrists and
neck, police said. She was kept behind a door into which a small, square opening
was cut and steel bars had been inserted, police said.

Her husband, Edwin Coenan, 41, was arrested the same day and booked on suspicion
of false imprisonment and endangering a dependent adult. He has been released on
$5,000 bail, and no charges have been filed.

This implies answers to some questions - whether false imprisonment by a
family member is legal. Apparently, family relationship does not grant the right
to illegally imprison another adult, even a dependent adult.

The woman's father and stepmother, Floyd and Audrey Twede, as well as the victim's
half-brother, Steven, are also under investigation, police said. The Twedes rented
the house on Rolling Hills Drive where the woman was confined.

Police said they saw Scientology printed material in the house and plan to review
documents written by Scientology's late founder L. Ron Hubbard that describe how
to treat mental breakdowns. In the documents, Hubbard recommended isolation as a
treatment and also warned his followers to avoid conventional psychiatric care.

If Hubbard is describing how to treat mental breakdowns, this sounds like
practicing medicine without a license.

"The family also made statements to the effect that they didn't believe in some forms
of medicine and psychiatric help," Sgt. Elias Valdez said. "We are trying to determine
what connection the beliefs had with the false imprisonment."

Investigators said other relatives and friends of the woman said she had been kept in
the room for at least eight weeks after suffering a mental breakdown in October.

"Attorneys for the husband and parents have said that Marianne became so violent, she
was hurting herself," Lundstrum said. "So they created a space where she could not
harm herself. They said they did it for her own safety."

Isn't this precisely the point at which legal commitment proceedings should take place?

The woman's confinement came to the attention of authorities after Cathy Speer of
Hillsboro, Ore., said her sister failed to arrive in Oregon for the Christmas holidays,
Lundstrum said. Speer asked police to go to the Phillips Ranch home to check on her,
the detective added.

Does this imply that Marianne had previously been healthy enough that her sister was
not aware of her mental breakdown in October?

After Edwin Coenan's arrest, a relative called the Church of Scientology and was
referred to Timothy Bowles, whose Los Angeles law firm represents the church on various
matters. Bowles told The Times that he had been briefly involved in the case, but is not
defending Coenan.

Church spokeswoman Shirley Young confirmed Friday that the Coenan's and Twedes are
Scientologists but added that the care of Marianne Coenan "was not a church matter ...
nor did the church take any stand with relationship to her treatment."

But if the Introspection Rundown, part of Scientology "tech", calls for illegally
detaining people - and I contend that indeed it does - then the church most definitely
does take a stand regarding her treatment.

Specifically, police said they will review a "technical bulletin" authored in 1974 by
Hubbard, in which he describes the "Introspection Rundown" -- a process for treating
people with mental breakdowns.

He wrote that people suffering severe mental anguish, or a "psychotic break," should
be isolated and "destimulated" to protect them and others from possible harm. During
the process, Hubbard added, the "muzzled rule is in force," meaning that no one should
speak to the troubled person or talk within earshot.

The document also articulates Hubbard's understanding of psychosis and his disdain for
psychiatry.

Asked if the family was using a church-approved treatment for psychosis, church
spokeswoman Young said Coenan's isolation was "a medical matter" and added that "the
church takes no official stand on it."

Given the contents of the Introspection Rundown document, this is a lie.

However, church officials, relatives and police said Coenan had been under medical
supervision during the two months of confinement.

Young, asked whether the family was applying the "Introspection Rundown," said, "I'm
just becoming abreast of the situation. So far as what they did, this is a sad and
unfortunate case."

What happened to Lisa McPherson, who died while in the custody of Scientology, was also
a sad and unfortunate case. The question is whether this kind of tragedy is illegal,
and whether it can be avoided in the future.

Detective Lundstrum, meanwhile, said the bulletin "may help explain what the people were
doing, but the information has absolutely no legal bearing on the case."

But if Scientology and Hubbard claim a scientific basis for these procedures, isn't that
fraud?

Detectives visited Marianne Coenan several times this week at a private psychiatric
hospital in Pomona, Lundstrum said. Coenan appeared to be in fair physical condition, and
"she had some lucid moments, but she still has not been able to concentrate," the
detective said.

Relatives told police that her condition deteriorated over the past year, during which
time she had been taken to several doctors.

[One of those doctors,] Privitera said he has no connection to Scientology and the church
has never steered patients to his practice.

Detectives said charges against Edwin Coenan must be formally filed by Thursday. At that
time, charges against any other suspects will be filed, if there are any, Lundstrum said.

D.A. WON'T FILE CHARGES AGAINST MAN WHO KEPT WIFE LOCKED UP

Los Angeles Times, January 31, 1990

By JOHN H. LEE, TIMES STAFF WRITER

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has decided not to file criminal charges
against the husband of a mentally distraught woman who was kept isolated in a cell-like
bedroom for two months , a prosecutor in Pomona said Tuesday.

Edwin Coenan, 41, was arrested Dec. 5 after Pomona police found his wife incoherent, bruised
and confined in a boarded-up room at a residence in the Phillips Ranch area.

Deputy Dist. Atty. John Hayes said the case was being "kicked back to police detectives for
further investigation."

Detective Carolyn Lundstrum said Coenan has refused to discuss the case with police. She
added that the wife's father and stepmother, Floyd and Audrey Twede, who live at the house,
also refused to answer police questions. The Twedes were not arrested.

Attorneys for the husband and the Twedes told investigators that Marianne Coenan, 31, was
isolated so she could safely recover from a mental breakdown suffered in October. When police
and Los Angeles County mental health workers found Coenan, she was locked behind a door into
which a small, square window was cut and steel bars had been inserted.

"Generally speaking, the family was not under obligation to report (the confinement)," Hayes
said. "Our decision not to file charges was based on insufficient information to support the
case. From what I read between the lines, these people actually thought they were benefiting
this woman."

I would like to know why the family was not obligated to report the confinement. In the
earlier story, the clear implication seemed to be that this was a case of false imprisonment.
Hayes' statement does indicate that Marianne was not being helped by being locked up, despite
the apparently good intentions of her family.

The family, which belongs to the Church of Scientology, apparently adhered to beliefs espoused
by the church's late founder, L. Ron Hubbard -- particularly, a disdain for psychiatric
treatment.

Coenan's confinement was consistent with the method of treating mental breakdowns described in
Scientology literature that police requested and reviewed while investigating the case ,
Lundstrum said.

"Based on the report we submitted, the (district attorney's) office was not convinced that any
criminal activity took place," the detective said.

Prosecutor Hayes said the investigation will continue until additional relatives and friends
of the woman are questioned .

"We want the police to conduct a few more interviews," Hayes said.

" I don't think the wife has been questioned yet," he said. "I believe her condition has improved
greatly, though . The detectives will talk to her when she is able to handle an interview."

So, under horrific and illegal Scientology treatment, she got worse; under traditional
psychiatric care, she improved.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

750 BUCKS FOR THIS?

Heck no!  It's not complete.  It doesn't tell about Hubbard and Jack Parsons performing a Satanic ritual along with Marjorie Cameron to conceive a demonic child.  And it doesn't contain Hubbard's admissions.  Click here to read them, including the Full version of the Admissions.

 



Saturday, March 24, 2012

A good Scientology Song

Dedicated to those still in.  Come on out.  It is great out here.



Baby Watching

When some Scientologist get up into the upper levels of auditing and find
that it was all a science fiction story, they kind of go a little nuts. After
all, they have spent an extraordinary amount of time and money to get there.
There are also some staff members who break under the pressure and abuse.
So they have a process called the Introspection Rundown to handle the
person until they can get them back in and fixed up (read re-brainwashed).
Part of this rundown is the Baby Watch. The following article describes how
this is done.



The Independent

Monday 31 January 1994

The Scientologists call it "baby-watching", but it has nothing to do with
looking after infants. TIM KELSEY and MIKE RICKS investigate the potentially
dangerous, and possibly illegal, secret treatment that the world's largest
cult uses to deal with difficult members.

The middle-aged German student started screaming. He seemed to have lost
control. He was a Scientologist, a member of the world's largest cult, on a
course of study that, he had been promised, would bring him closer to the
secrets of the universe and, eventually, give him the key to eternal life.

According to eyewitnesses, the man, whose name is known to the "Independent",
was taken to an isolated room in a communal building not far from Saint Hill,
a 17th-century manor house in East Grinstead, West Sussex, and the UK
headquarters of the cult.

For two weeks, the room was locked. The German had been placed on an "isolation
watch" - or what Scientologists more informally refer to as a "baby watch". It
is a treatment that was prescribed by the founder of the cult, L. Ron Hubbard,
a science fiction writer, for members showing signs of psychosis or mental ill-
health -- people who are, literally, plagued by evil spirits. It is the last
resort for dealing with difficult Scientologists. It is a treatment that the
organization has so far kept secret.

This indicates treatment for a medical condition - practicing medicine
without a license.

The subject of the watch is observed at all times, and not allowed to talk to
anybody. He or she is, in the language of the cult, "muzzled". Our witnesses, who
have asked to remain anonymous, remember that the German was sometimes incontinent
and that they had to wash him down at the sink in the otherwise bare room. The
five people who guarded him were only allowed to communicate with him in writing.
Eventually he was allowed to return to Germany.

Scientology stand accused of many things: of warping people's minds, of financial
corruption, of preying on the vulnerable. Thirty years ago, a group of Members of
Parliament tried to have it banned in the United Kingdom after a girl with a
history of mental illness was found wandering around East Grinstead, having a
nervous breakdown. Finally, the Government banned all foreign nationals coming to
the UK to work or study in Scientology, until 1980.

Hubbard regarded the law as a tool to be used to the advantage of the cult (he once
said: "The law can be used very easily to harass"), and the cult has become notorious
for issuing injunctions and taking out libel actions - none of which it has so far
won. But the tide seems to be turning: there are a series of legal actions pending
from former members seeking damages for a variety of reasons, including false
imprisonment.

The "baby-watching" incident with the German student occurred in 1991. But the
technique has been used more recently, according to confidential church documents
dating from September 1993, which have been leaked to the "Independent". These show
that the Scientologists mounted an internal investigation after a baby watch conducted
on another German, again at Saint Hill, last year. The investigation was instigated
because the woman put in isolation was already suffering from an acute mental disorder
- in the terminology used by the investigating officer, she was Type III, which
translates as "insane" . She went insane, according to the document, while she was
working for the organization in Europe. In early 1993, she arrived in Saint Hill and
was put on a baby watch because she was thought to be a "security risk". Her boyfriend
was put in charge of the watch. But something went badly wrong, and the watch was
"very extended" because of incompetence by local officials, reports the document. It
is not clear whether she was locked in a room throughout or allowed, as is sometimes
the case, to walk around during the watch. There seems to be some dispute about whether
the local staff were adequately trained to deal with such a case, and permission for
her "treatment" finally had to come directly from the American leadership of the cult.

Several of the most senior officers of the British arm of the cult were blamed for
allowing this woman to remain a member of the cult -- according to the internal memo,
she apparently had a history of drug abuse. These senior members were ordered to attend
an internal tribunal. If found guilty of failing to ensure the "security" of the member,
they will be demoted and sentenced to a period of "rehabilitation" through hard labor.
According to the report, it seems that the woman escaped from Saint Hill, was arrested
by police and then returned to Germany.

One former senior cult official who worked in the Californian section of the
organisation was involved in several baby watches. On one occasion, a woman staff
member was put in isolation after she started throwing furniture out of the window of
her flat, which overlooked Hollywood Boulevard. She was then locked in her room. "We
had to take all the furniture out of the room, strip it completely and leave her in
there on her own for more than a week," the official said. "She was just crazy, talking
to herself and screaming." This woman had been engaged in one of the most demanding of
the Scientology courses, during which students are taught that 75 million years ago the
earth was part of a galactic confederation ruled by an evil prince called Xenu. He
shipped the inhabitants of 76 planets to earth. The spirits (or thetans) of these extra
-terrestrials inhabit the souls of contemporary human beings and have to be exorcised.

Dr Betty Tylden , a retired consultant psychiatrist who is regularly called as an expert
court witness on cults, has treated Scientologists recovering from the effects of baby
watches -- both the victims and the guards. She has seen several in the past six months
alone. "People are terribly frightened of it," she said. "They come out of it suffering
from something very similar to Post- traumatic Stress Disorder, the "prisoner" syndrome.
There is hyper- arousal, flashbacks, fear and obsessions. It is very nasty, and even if
it doesn't break a law, it is a gross curtailment of an individual's liberty."

It is not just baby-watching that is causing concern. One Zimbabwean man, Noel
Matarandirotya , who has now left the organization and has been advised by his legal
counsel that he may have grounds to seek compensation from the Scientologists for, among
other things, false imprisonment , claims that he collapsed as a result of intensive
interrogation. He came to Saint Hill in 1991, on a ticket paid for by the cult, but the
following year he was suspected of subverting the interests of the organization. He
alleges that he was interrogated for two or three hours every day often with a lie
detector connected by electrodes to his hands.

His concerns about the cult started before this, while he participated in a Scientology
course called a "purification rundown" -- during which members spend long periods in a
sauna and take large quantities of vitamin pills. According to Dr Tylden, the massive
quantity of pills, combined with the physical stress of spending long periods at high
temperatures, could be fatal. "I found it very difficult," said Mr Matarandirotya. "There
were some children doing the course when I did it. I saw at least two, the youngest
around 10, and they were taking the vitamins, too."

He is prepared to speak out. Most are not. Scientology has a reputation for hunting down
its critics. One man has taken to wearing an armored vest because of alleged threats
against his life. One American former cult member claims that he was ordered to kill two
opponents of the organization.

Those claims will shortly be tested in court. If they prove true, they could mark the
beginning of the end for one of this century's most bizarre, powerful and secretive
social phenomena.