Wikileaks.org — a watchdog Web site that leaks corporate and government documents — hasn't officially launched, yet it has already uncovered human-rights violations in China, claimed to have swayed Kenya's Dec. 2007 elections and exposed the inner workings of the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. So many were surprised when it recently turned its sights on two lawyer-heavy religious groups: the Mormons and the Scientologists. Founded in December 2006, Wikileaks boasts of an archive of 1.2 million released documents, sent ...

A PROTESTER has been charged with breach of the peace after carrying an "ambiguous" sign during a rally against the Church of Scientology. The 57-year-old was arrested after taking part in a protest at Hunter Square, near the controversial church's Scottish base on South Bridge. The protest was organised by campaign group Anonymous, which has been fighting for the right to describe the church as a cult. The protester who was arrested was wearing a Mexican wrestler's mask and carrying signs ...

The police force that issued a teenager with a court summons for calling Scientology a cult could face a judicial review over the legality of its policing guidelines. Although prosecutors last week declined to take the 16-year-old to court, freedom of speech campaigners are to ask City of London police to explain how the initial decision to issue the summons was made. Campaigners said they would call for a judicial review if it is found that the force's guidelines for policing ...

It may be one thing for freedom of expression to be an object of controversy in Canada — which is, after all, a somewhat tenuous experiment in democracy and federalism, one whose final shape and outcome may yet remain to be determined — but it is quite another to see it tormented in Great Britain, the historical anchor of most of the liberties we take for granted. When Britain injures what the rest of regard as British principles, it is a ...

A teenager who was facing legal action for calling the Church of Scientology a cult has today been told he will not be taken to court. The Crown Prosecution Service ruled the word was neither "abusive or insulting" to the church and no further action would be taken against the boy. The unnamed 16-year-old was handed a court summons by City of London police for refusing to put down a placard saying "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous ...

A teenager could face prosecution for calling scientology a "dangerous cult" during a protest.

A teenage boy is facing a possible criminal prosecution for holding a sign describing the Church of Scientology as a "cult", police said on Tuesday. The boy, who is described only as a minor, was taking part in a demonstration outside the church's central London headquarters on May 10 when City of London Police officers ordered him to remove the placard. It read: "Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult." When he refused, he was issued with a ...

Faces prosecution for branding Hubbardites a cu*t Anti-Scientology campaigners are up in arms after it emerged that City of London police issued a court summons to a teenager for displaying a sign that branded the Hollywood-bothering, UFO-fancying sect a "cult". The incident occurred on 10 May outside Scientology's controversial Square Mile headquarters, at a rally spearheaded by the online activist movement Anonymous. The unnamed GCSE student involved posted a request for advice the next day to the anti-Scientology messages boards at ...

At Saturday’s “Operation: Fair Game: Stop,” Anonymous’ latest installment in a series of monthly global protests, one local member abandoned his ridiculous three-pronged disguise of glasses, a fake nose and a mustache. Instead Mike Vitale wore his name in white letters emblazoned across a black cotton T-shirt. For Vitale, it’s no longer necessary to obscure his face with the cheap gag getup. The Church of Scientology already knows who he is and where he lives. Days before the protest focusing on ...

[Picture / Caption: That's Mike Vitale. Guess the costume didn't work too well.] When Queens resident Mike Vitale was outed as a member of Anonymous by the Church of Scientology last month, he specifically asked Church members if they planned to prove his criticisms correct by declaring him “fair game” and subjecting him to the threats and intimidation that are said to be inherent in that Church policy. Would they threaten him or show up at his house? Well, they did—or, ...

A previously covert member of a controversial web-based group called Anonymous is headed for Boston Municipal Court this week to face misdemeanor harassment charges for his alleged role in anti-Church of Scientology demonstrations. In an unusual case pitting First Amendment free-speech protections against an individual's right to practice religion without harassment, Anonymous member Gregg Housh is slated to be arraigned on April 30. Housh, already on probation in federal court, is charged with unlawfully participating in a series of protests between ...

The Church of Scientology has acknowledged that Wikileaks is offering the world quick and easy access to the church's top-secret "bibles". Or should that be formerly top-secret? On March 24, the swashbuckling truth-seekers at Wikileaks.org published what they referred to as "the collected secret 'bibles' of Scientology," and three days later, church-friendly lawyers threatened the site with legal action if the documents weren't taken down. Calling them "Advanced Technology of the Scientology religion," the lawyers pointed out that the documents are ...

The church is seeking a restraining order to stop a new round of protests. CLEARWATER - With the Internet activist group Anonymous threatening a second round of protests against Scientology this weekend, the Clearwater-based church went to court late Tuesday, filing a petition for a temporary restraining order. The petition was filed just before the close of court Tuesday afternoon, and the St. Petersburg Times could not obtain a copy of the petition. Pat Harney, a spokeswoman for the Church of ...

THE POWER TO DESTROY Info sought on secret IRS deal with Scientology 'Position represents unconstitutional favoritism of one religious group over another' Posted: February 19, 2008 3:53 pm Eastern © 2009 WorldNetDaily A federal appeals court is being asked to tell the Internal Revenue Service to open up a secret deal with the Church of Scientology that reportedly allows members to deduct certain educational, or "auditing," expenses, a benefit denied members of other faiths in the United States. The report comes ...

A German court has deemed that the country's government is within its rights to watch over the Church of Scientology. But the debate over whether Scientology is a sect or a genuine religion is sure to continue. An administrative appellate court in Muenster handed down the verdict in the case, brought by the Scientology organization, which challenged an early decision allowing government surveillance. The Muenster judges found that the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution was within its authority ...