France’s Church of Scientology went on trial in Paris this week on charges of organised fraud in a case that could lead to the nationwide dissolution of the controversial organisation.
The organisation’s ”celebrity centre”, its spiritual association and its Scientology Freedom Space bookshop in Paris stand accused of targeting vulnerable people for commercial gain. Six leading members, including the celebrity centre’s director, Alain Rosenberg, also face charges of illegally distributing pharmaceuticals.
This is the second time in two years that the French church has been charged with fraud. The case stems from the testimony of a French woman who filed an official complaint against the organisation in 1998.
Lawyers for Aude-Claire Malton claim that Scientologists preyed upon her at a time when she was ”very psychologically fragile”, allegedly pressuring her into spending her life savings of €21 000 on products, including ”purification packs” and vitamins.
The investigating magistrate in charge of bringing the case against the church, Jean-Christophe Hullin, argues that she was the victim of a deliberately manipulative system that exploits vulnerable people to make money. In his indictment, Hullin said the church, which has been glamorised by Hollywood members such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta, made a profit by placing individuals in a ”state of subjection”. The organisation, he argued, was ”first and foremost a commercial business” whose actions revealed ”a real obsession for financial remuneration”.
The church denies using any psychological manipulation and decries what it calls a ”carefully orchestrated campaign” by French anti-cult organisations to shut it down. ”This is a sacrilegious trial,” said a spokesperson, Daniele Gounord. Patrick Maisonneuve, a lawyer for the church, said he would fight every charge.
France has been a particularly hostile environment for Scientologists ever since the movement was born in the Fifties. In this instance, however, the Paris prosecutor had asked for the case to be dropped, but Hullin ruled last year that it should proceed.
While some countries, such as the United States, consider Scientology a religion, France categorises it as a sect, and the country’s courts have convicted several individuals of fraud in past decades -— most notably the organisation’s science-fiction-writing creator, L Ron Hubbard, in 1978.
The trial, which is expected to finish next month, will focus on Malton as evidence of the church’s alleged fraudulent practice.
The hotel worker was one of several former members to file complaints, all of whom Hullin describes as displaying ”signs of vulnerability” and ”low self-esteem”.
Three of them, however, have since withdrawn after reaching a financial agreement with church officials.
Malton, who, in May 1998, had just emerged from a relationship break-up and was suffering emotional difficulties, says she was approached by Scientologists at the exit of a metro station in Paris in May 1998 and offered a ”free personality test”. When the test results came back negative, she was persuaded to sign up for ”communication” and ”life repair” classes.
She alleges she was then encouraged to buy an array of paraphernalia, including Scientology books and so-called purification packs. Her lawyers claim the church sold her one product —- an ”electrometer”, supposedly used to diagnose a member’s mental state —- for €4 800.
If convicted, the six top Scientologists in the country face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of €1-million. The celebrity centre and bookshop not only face a much larger fine, but also run the risk of being shut down completely.
However, commentators said that such an outcome would be a long time coming as the organisation would undoubtedly appeal against a guilty verdict. —