... There's evidence that they are.
"Since 1986 authorities in France, Spain and Italy have raided more than 50 Scientology centers. Pending charges against more than 100 of its overseas church members include fraud, extortion, capital flight, coercion, illegally practicing medicine and taking advantage of mentally incapacitated people."
- Time Magazine, May 6, 1991<
This page provides links to reports alleging that Scientology is breaking the law. The links are grouped by type of allegation:
The pages are perpetually under construction, as I keep finding
more evidence.
As you read these pages, please keep these things in mind:
- Scientology has a history of
criminal activity.< Top Scientology officials have been
convicted of a variety of crimes, and Scientology itself was
convicted of espionage in Canada in 1992.
As
Time Magazine reported< in 1991, "Eleven top Scientologists,
including Hubbard's wife, were sent to prison in the early 1980s
for infiltrating, burglarizing and wiretapping more than 100
private and government agencies in attempts to block their
investigations."
- Scientology policy appears to support most, if not all, of
these allegations. Scientology policy calls for illegal imprisonment< ,
violation of labor laws< ,
and a shocking disregard for
the fundamental rights of all citizens< .
- The allegations listed here span 25 years and much of the
globe. Scientology's extremely high emphasis on doing things
"standardly" makes it likely that criminal actions, dictated by
Scientology policy, are happening today.
- Scientology's U.S. strongholds are in California (Los Angeles)
and Florida (Clearwater). There is every indication that
Scientology operates in the same manner in every state and
country , so allegations of misconduct in a particular state
are probably indicative of misconduct in other Scientology
locations.
- While many allegations are several years old, they are often
matched by more recent allegations of similar illegal behavior.
I believe that this indicates an ongoing pattern. In
particular, I believe that illegal imprisonment, the illegal
practice of medicine, fraud, defamation, and the violation of labor
laws are part of Scientology policy and, I believe, are practiced
to this day.
- While some of the allegations are from anonymous Internet
users, their stories are consistent with allegations from sworn
documents and newspaper accounts. Considering Scientology's policy on viciously attacking
enemies< , it's understandable that some critics (like the
author of this page) prefer to be anonymous.
- Finally, please treat EVERYTHING you read (here and
elsewhere) with skepticism. I believe that the accumulated
evidence indicates that illegal activity has taken place and
continues to take place. However, it is possible that everything
described here is false. Please view the evidence and decide for
yourself.
While I owe enormous gratitude to the many, many other web page creators whose links I followed, any errors are my own. I apologize for any inaccurate summaries or misattributions. I'll try to correct any errors that are brought to my attention.
You can help!
Are you furious? Are you curious? Are you outraged to think that
a religious organization could commit such crimes in free and
democratic countries? Are you a Scientologist who's upset that
people are saying such awful things about Scientology?
Act now!
If you live in the United States, contact the US Attorney General< and your state attorney general< . If there's a Scientology office near you, please also contact your local district attorney. If you live outside the United States, contact your country's prosecuting authorities.
Ask for a full investigation into these allegations. (A sample letter is available.)< If some of the allegations are true, those responsible should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. If some of the allegations are false, that information should be publicized so that people will know that the accusations were groundless.
You can also help by:
To learn more, visit some related web sites: