Belgium May Prosecute the Church of Scientology

sheean.nl writes "A Belgian prosecutor recommended after a 10-year investigation that the government prosecute the church of Scientology. The church is accused of being a criminal organization involved in extortion, fraud, unfair trading, violation of privacy laws, and unlawfully practicing medicine. Both the Belgian and the European branches of the church should be brought to court, according to the authorities. The investigation was started in 1997 after former Scientologists complained about intimidation and extortion by the church. Other European countries such as Germany have problems with Scientology, but in the US it is officially recognized as a religion. Scientology has 10 million members including high-profile followers such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta." Scientology has long used heavy-handed legal and other tactics to suppress opposition on the Net.

Comments

Also Prosecute

[Anonymous Coward]

and seize ALL the assets of the American Taliban.

Thanks for your PatRIOTism.

belgium and freedom of religion

[sdedeo]

I'm certaintly not a fan of the CoS (please don't kill me), but Belgium is known for its heavy-handed treatment of religious minorities. Opus Dei, a Catholic sect, for example, has had continuous run-ins with the "cult" classification. I don't have much of an opinion on Opus Dei (a friend of mine in Belgium roomed with an Opus Dei member though, and thought they were fine.) But this kind of religious censorship and persecution wouldn't fly in the United States, and I'm glad.

Of course one reason it wouldn't fly in the States is that Scalia is a member of Opus Dei! But that's another story...