Could Belgium Bring Down Scientology?

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http://news.yahoo.com/could-belgium-bring-down-scientology-164921804.html

Scientologists may be facing their most daunting court case yet, and all it took was for someone to stop calling them a cult. After a years long legal battle, federal prosecutors in Belgium now believe their investigation is complete enough to charge the Church of Scientology and its leaders as a criminal organization on charges of extortion, fraud, privacy breaches, and the illegal practice of medicine. "The decision follows years of investigation that was triggered by a complaint by the Labour Mediation Service in the Brussels Region. Labour mediators were unhappy with a number of labour contracts," reads the report from Flanders News. "The matter ended up on the desk of examining magistrate Michel Claise, who ordered raids on Church of Scientology premises in 2008. During the raids police managed to seize a wealth of evidence," they add. And (with the help of Google translate) Belgian newspapers De Tijd and L'Echo are both reporting that the Belgian federal attorney is now seeking prosecution.

More at link.....
 
Interesting article Reader. Trying to say they're a criminal organization. :what:

Wonder how much press this will get?

JMHO
fran
 
Belgium To Prosecute Scientology As Criminal Organization; Church Faces Charges Of Extortion, Fraud

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...es-scientology-extortion-fraud_n_2375823.html

Federal public prosecutors in Belgium will institute legal proceedings against the church of Scientology in that country and seek to recognize it as a criminal organization.

The church of Scientology -- which is not recognized as a faith in Belgium -- and several of its top-ranking members face charges including extortion, fraud, illegal practice of medicine and violation of privacy laws, according to Flanders News.

The complaint stems from an investigation of fraudulent labor contracts issued by the church of Scientology in an effort to recruit new volunteers and members. A judge ordered raids on Scientology offices in 2008 that allegedly uncovered a "wealth of evidence" that the organization had spied on and extorted money from its members, according to De Standaard.

More at link.....
 
And the next question is why RICO charges weren't brought against another church for moving pedophiles from place to place?
 
SCIENTOLOGY needs to get investigated in the USA too.
The only reason it has not happened is they give a lot of money A LOT!!!!

That is what is meant by "MONEY CUROPTS".

because money itself in the hands of mindful ethical people does not corrupt.
 
The end result may be that the US branch simply claims that the Belgian branch is corrupt ... they'll simply distance themselves and continue doing what they do.
 
otto said:
The end result may be that the US branch simply claims that the Belgian branch is corrupt ... they'll simply distance themselves and continue doing what they do.
Click to expand...

You may be right, but it is still time to investigate them.
JMO
 
songline said:
You may be right, but it is still time to investigate them.
JMO
Click to expand...

There have been a couple of documentaries about the corruption within the scientology organization. I would think that there is enough evidence for an investigation in the US ... it's actually surprising that there hasn't yet been a proper investigation resulting in charges.
 
otto said:
There have been a couple of documentaries about the corruption within the scientology organization. I would think that there is enough evidence for an investigation in the US ... it's actually surprising that there hasn't yet been a proper investigation resulting in charges.
Click to expand...

I wonder if it is because the U.S. has recognized them as a 'faith'? Don't they have tax exemption status? Looks like Belgium was smarter....
 
otto said:
There have been a couple of documentaries about the corruption within the scientology organization. I would think that there is enough evidence for an investigation in the US ... it's actually surprising that there hasn't yet been a proper investigation resulting in charges.
Click to expand...

they are a money machine, and they pay a lot. or they would be gone.
Sadly the way this country works has nothing to do with facts.
It has all to do with spin if there is enough money to gain :(
.
 
songline said:
they are a money machine, and they pay a lot. or they would be gone.
Sadly the way this country works has nothing to do with facts.
It has all to do with spin if there is enough money to gain :(
.
Click to expand...

We also have a Constitution that is different from those of Belgium and Germany. A Constitution, I might add, that was written centuries before Scientology was designed precisely to take advantage of U.S. constitutional principles.
 
Nova said:
We also have a Constitution that is different from those of Belgium and Germany. A Constitution, I might add, that was written centuries before Scientology was designed precisely to take advantage of U.S. constitutional principles.
Click to expand...


Last I read the constitution does not include Scientology, nor the likes of it.
Not being snarky,
From what I read on scientology it is not a religion.
Called a religion because they deal with some spiritual stuff but they made medical claims and cures that could not be substantiated at all scientifically, so they were lumped into religion. read about that, it is true.
 
songline said:
Last I read the constitution does not include Scientology, nor the likes of it.
Not being snarky,
From what I read on scientology it is not a religion.
Called a religion because they deal with some spiritual stuff but they made medical claims and cures that could not be substantiated at all scientifically, so they were lumped into religion. read about that, it is true.
Click to expand...

Scientology is not a religion, In the 1950's L. Ron Hubbard called it a church for tax purposes. He was on the run for some time, until his death.

From 1952 until 1966, Scientology was administered by an organization called the Hubbard Association of Scientologists (HAS), established in Arizona on September 10, 1952. In 1954, the HAS became the HASI (HAS International). The Church of Scientology was incorporated in California on February 18, 1954, changing its name to "The Church of Scientology of California" (CSC) in 1956. In 1966, Hubbard transferred all HASI assets to CSC, thus gathering Scientology under one tax-exempt roof. In 1967, the IRS stripped all US-based Scientology entities of their tax exemption, declaring Scientology's activities were commercial and operated for the benefit of Hubbard. The church sued and lost repeatedly for 26 years trying to regain its tax-exempt status.

It is nothing new the Church has been operating under fraud and other government illegal activities for some time.

Church of Scientology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
I thought you were the legal expert, legalmania. Surely you know the First Amendment offers no "test" for what is a true religion. Here is the continuation of the quote you offered:

The case was eventually settled in 1993, at which time the church paid $12.5 million to the IRS—greatly less than IRS had initially demanded—and the IRS recognized the church as a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.[42] In addition, Scientology also dropped more than fifty lawsuits against the IRS when this settlement was reached. Scientology cites its tax exemption as proof the United States government accepts it as a religion.[43] In January 2009, removal of the tax exemption was rated as number 9 in items for the incoming Barack Obama administration to investigate, as determined in an internet poll run by the presidential transition team soliciting public input for the incoming administration.[44] The U.S. State Department has criticized Western European nations for discrimination against Scientologists in its published annual International Religious Freedom report, based on the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998.
Click to expand...

(Emphasis added.) No doubt the omission was unintentional.

Now you and I may agree that L. Ron Hubbard rather cynically adapted his Dianetics principles to take advantage of constitutional protections (just as he suggested someone should do in a lecture given a year earlier), but per the Constitution, what you and I think doesn't matter.

There was a day when the Church of LDS was considered "not a religion" and there is every reason to be just as cynical about Joseph Smith.

Nonetheless, our Constitution provides no test for what is a "true" religion and what is a "false" one.
 
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