The plaintiff, Kevin Stevenson, is a graphic designer originally from County Donegal, who lived in Dublin for a number of years and currently resides in Paris. Stevenson alleges that around 2004, he was offered a copy of the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, written by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard and the following year, he attended the Irish headquarters of Scientology, on Dublin’s Middle Abbey Street, for ‘personality testing’.

Stevenson claims to have been unduly influenced by the organisation to take out a new mortgage on his home with Start Mortgages to free up capital to pay for the auditing courses, including one referred to as the ‘purification and objectives’ course. (Auditing is a central practice in Scientology in which an interviewer asks the subject a series of questions designed to uncover subconscious memories.) He previously had a relatively small mortgage of his house and received on an annual salary of around €60,000 from the advertising agency he worked for.

One of the Scientology staff allegedly moved into Stevenson’s house for about a year, where he lived rent-free. By 2009, it is alleged, Stevenson was running out of cash and claims that the Scientologists (and its servants and agents), became increasingly aggressive in their demands for money, occasionally phoning him at work to seek payment. Stevenson later left the organisation, apparently with the help of his friends and then moved abroad.

The latest accounts available for the company behind the Scientologists in Ireland — the Church of Scientology Mission of Dublin Ltd — showed that it had a deficit in members’ funds of €685,000 at the end of April 2010. A note in the accounts said that this “deficit has been funded by members of the Church of Scientology worldwide and other Church of Scientology Missions.”

The company directors are listed as Gerard Ryan, an architect with an address in Finglas, D11, and Siobhan Ryan, who lives in Swords, Co Dublin. Two other senior members are Dublin-based chiropractors Gerard Collins and wife, Zabrina Collins. She is the daughter of the Donegal publican, Frank Shortt, who was framed by Gardai in the 1990s who falsely accused him of allowing the sale of drugs in his nightclub, for which he spent three years in jail.

This is not the first time a former member of the Scientologists has taken the company to the Irish courts. In 2003, a case in which one Mary Johnston had alleged conspiracy, misrepresentation, breach of constitutional rights and infliction of emotional harm, was settled on undisclosed terms.

Charges of fraud, illegal medicine, breaches of privacy and extortion have been drawn up against the church and two senior executives, ‘De Tijd’, Belgium’s financial newspaper, has reported.

“The subpoenas have only just been sent to the Scientologists,” the newspaper reported.

The charges are said to relate to employment contracts issued to recruit volunteers and members in breach of Belgium’s strict employment laws.

Prosecutors are investigating claims of extortion of members, the illegal use of “pseudo-medicine” and the keeping of records that contravene privacy laws.

A spokesman for the church’s Brussels headquarters said: “Unfortunately, we have not received anything from the prosecutor’s office yet. The media have been informed, we have not.”

Scientology’s rejection of many medical practices and its psychological “auditing” techniques of recruits, including the taking of personal records, have long been controversial. In February this year, a French appeals court upheld fraud charges and a €600,000 fine against the Church of Scientology in France for talking its recruits into paying large sums for bogus personality tests and cures.

The movement, which has actor Tom Cruise as its figurehead, has been under investigation in Belgium for 15 years without any charges being brought against the organisation, which is viewed as a cult in many European countries.

While Scientology is regarded as a religion in the United States, Italy and Spain, it is not recognised as a church in other European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium and Britain.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/belgium-to-bring-fraud-charges-against-scientologists-3338253.html

FORMER members of the Church of Scientology will hold a conference in Dublin next month to highlight the impact the movement has on followers.

The organiser is Pete Griffiths, a former director of an English Scientology mission, who says he has informed police at Dublin airport Scientologists may stage protests there against speakers arriving for the event.

Mike Rinder, a former chief spokesman for Scientology, claims when he came to Ireland in October he was confronted at the airport by seven Scientologists shouting “You are not welcome in Ireland”.

The movement’s followers also protested at TV3′s studios, where Rinder was giving an interview, in which he claimed the Church of Scientology took money from followers by getting them to sign up to “life improvement” courses, mentally abused them, and controlled their emotions and behaviour. Rinder, who left in 2007, has admitted he intimidated and sought to discredit critics of the movement when he was in the church.

Griffiths now takes part in regular protests by Anonymous outside the church’s Dublin’s mission and credits the online activists for enabling defectors to join forces online. He had a “penny-drop-ping moment” when he checked out Scientology online in 2008 and now offers support to others who renounce the movement.

“We’re hoping that by raising public awareness, some people who have been in Scientology for a long time will start to question what they are doing,” Griffiths said. “It is brainwashing. The people who join are so keen and enthusiastic and well-meaning, but they control your emotions and rip you off by getting you to work for nothing and devote all of your time to it.”

Gerard Ryan, director of Scientology’s Dublin mission, said; “Our members do their best to ignore them, but their presence is intimidating. This little band has made clear it is their intention to harass and upset our members.

“Anonymous ‘hactivists’ are well publicised for their criminal activities the world over, including several arrests here in Ireland for hacking into the police, Fine Gael and others. Hardly a reputable source of information on the Church of Scientology”.

Speakers at the conference will include Tory Christman, a former ordained minister in Scientology, who worked at one of its celebrity centres. He once complained to MTV about A South Park parody that satirised actor John Travolta, a prominent church member. Tom Cruise and Peaches Geldof are among its other devotees.

Ryan dismissed the conference as “a handful of ex-members who have not been around for years”.

Revenues have continued to decline at the Irish branch of the Church of Scientology as it remains deep in the red, figures show.

Membership of the worldwide church — established in 1954 — includes movie stars such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

Interest-free loans from abroad are propping up the Irish branch, which is €686,723 in the red, acc-ording to its latest accounts.

However, the non-executive director of the Church of Scientology Mission of Dublin, Gerard Ryan, said yesterday its membership continued to grow last year and “our church in Ireland is definitely here for the long haul”.

Financial documents lodged by the Church of Scientology Mission of Dublin Ltd with the Companies Office show revenues fell 14%, from €193,509 to €166,086.

This followed the church’s revenues more than halving in 2009 from €484,070 recorded in 2008.

As a result of revenues further decreasing in 2010, the church’s operating surplus dropped 98%, from €68,292 to €1,391. This compares to a surplus of €271,804 in 2008. The accounts are for the 12-month period to the end of Apr 2010, but were only signed off by the board on Feb 20 of this year.

Mr Ryan blamed the recession for the drop in revenues. “Like everyone else in Ireland, our parishioners have been adversely affected by the current harsh economic conditions.”

He pointed out that the Irish branch is a not for profit. The church raises funds by the sale of its scriptures in the form of books, audio recordings and DVDs; via the extensive study courses; and spiritual counselling.

Mr Ryan said: “There are a few hundred adherents of Scientology in Ireland. There was a modest increase in numbers in the past year. We have churches in Dublin and Belfast.”

The church’s accumulated deficit stood at €690,370 at the end of Apr 2010.

Mr Ryan said: “I am very confident that in the medium to long term, we will completely eradicate our deficit.”

The Irish branch is part of a global movement established by deceased US author L Ron Hubbard. It has more than 9,000 churches, missions and affiliated groups in 165 countries.

Mr Ryan said: “Our church in Ireland is definitely here for the long haul. It was originally set up by L Ron Hubbard when he lived in Dublin for a period in the 1950s.

“Our current mission has existed since 1986 and that is evidence of our longevity.

“We fully intend to expand our church in Ireland, not only in our spiritual programmes, but in our social reform programmes such as drug rehab, prison inmate rehab, human rights education and much more.”

Mr Ryan said: “Scientology is a relatively new creed. Indeed, it is the first worldwide creed for over 2,000 years that is not based on, or a schism of, some earlier creed.

“That of itself is quite remarkable. Given that Scientology has a presence in over 160 countries, it is the only worldwide creed to have established in the 20th century.”

The Church of Scientology states that its purpose is to transform individual lives and the world, postulating that every person is a Thetan — an immortal spiritual being that lives through countless lifetimes. Scientologists believe Hubbard discovered the fundamental truths of existence and revere him as “the source” of the religion.

In relation to the deficit being carried by the Irish branch, Mr Ryan and fellow director Siobhan Ryan confirm “the deficit has been funded by loans from members of the Church of Scientology worldwide and other Church of Scientology missions”.

The directors state that as there is no fixed repayment arrangements on the interest-free loans, they “will be repaid at the discretion of the directors when future cash resources permit, which in turn is dependent on generating future surpluses”.

The outstanding amount on the loans increased during 2010 from €370,304 to €376,383.

The church’s deficit has prompted the company’s auditors, O’Gorman & Co Accountants to highlight the issue “in view of the significance of the deficit and the uncertainty of generating future surpluses”.

A FRENCH appeals court has upheld fraud charges and a €600,000 fine against the Church of Scientology for cajoling followers into paying large sums for bogus personality tests and cures.

Rejecting the church’s appeal against a 2009 ruling, the court said two French branches of the US-based organisation were guilty of “organised fraud” and gave four of its leaders suspended jail sentences of up to two years.

A French parliamentary committee described Scientology in 1995 as a “dangerous cult”, not a religion, and individual Scientologists had been prosecuted before, but this case marked the first time the organisation as a whole was convicted.

There had been expectations the French courts might ban the group, but legislation passed just before the original trial in May 2009 ruled that out.

The latest ruling found Scientology’s “celebrity centre” and its bookshop in Paris had taken advantage of vulnerable individuals in the 1990s. A personality test offered to followers had “no scientific value” and expensive treatments recommended on foot of negative results were purely a source of revenue.

The five plaintiffs in the case had accused the group of persuading them to spend tens of thousands of euro on the personality tests, vitamin cures, sauna sessions and “purification packs”.

“This is very good news for those who fight against cults and it is a serious defeat for the Church of Scientology,” said Olivier Morice, a lawyer for the plaintiffs.

Mr Morice said that while Scientology could still operate in France, the court’s ruling went to the heart of its activities and opened the door to a ban or dissolution as a possible outcome in other pending lawsuits.

Prosecutors had originally hoped the 2009 trial would lead to a ban in France. However, a change in French law that was approved shortly before a verdict briefly made it impossible to ban or dissolve a group convicted of fraud.

The law has since been changed back, but a ban on the group or its dissolution cannot be enforced retroactively.

Commenting yesterday, the church called the ruling “illegal” and said it would seek to have it overturned through a final appeal to the Cour de Cassation, France’s highest court, which can assess whether the law was applied correctly but not re-examine evidence.

“The church wishes that the fairness of justice, such as protected by our constitution, becomes a reality once again for all the citizens of our country, scientologists included,” a statement said.

The accused and their lawyers were not in court for yesterday’s verdict, but a few dozen scientologists protested outside the court with signs that read “I have the right to my religion”. In 1997 and 1999, French courts convicted Scientology members of fraud, while a court fined the church for violating privacy laws in 2002.

Founded in 1954 by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, the church bases its beliefs on the study of his 1950 book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.

The 2009 conviction saw Scientology’s Celebrity Centre and its bookshop in Paris, the two branches of its French operations, ordered to pay €600,000 in fines for preying financially on several followers in the 1990s.

Arriving for the hearing at a Paris court today, the group’s spokesman, Eric Roux, said he hoped the appeal would “expose the truth of this matter, which was judged in a scandalous manner the first time.”

The original ruling, while it stopped short of banning the group from operating in France, dealt a blow to the movement best known for its Hollywood followers such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

Alain Rosenberg, the French leader of the movement, was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence and fined €30,000 on the same charge of fraud.

Five more Scientologists were given fines ranging from €1,000 to €20,000 for fraud or the illegal practice of pharmacy after plaintiffs said they were given vitamins and concoctions to improve their mental state.

France regards Scientology as a cult, not a religion, and has prosecuted individual Scientologists before, but the case marked the first time the organisation as a whole had been convicted.

Olivier Morice, a lawyer for Unadfi, an organisation that campaigns against sects and is a plaintiff in the case, said the appeal was unfounded and accused the movement of being a business instead of a religion.

“For us, Scientology is a business, whose main goal is to elicit money from its followers,” he said outside the court.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/1103/scientology.html

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