Last week, the Senate Privileges Committee permitted the Church of Scientology to respond in Hansard to issues raised by Senator Nick Xenophon in November last year. The Scientologists promptly issued a press release declaring they had responded to Xenophon “in Parliament”, as if they had some sort of elected status. In allowing the Scientologist response into Hansard, the Privileges Committee has allowed itself to be made party to an attack on individuals who were brave enough to raise their treatment at ...

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (KABC) – Former Scientologists are suing the Church of Scientology for abuse they allegedly suffered while working for them. They spoke about the abuse publically for the first time Friday. "I was personally beat up on five separate occasions by the head of Scientology, David Miscavige," said former Scientology director Jeffrey Hawkins, a member of the church for 35 years. Hawkins is a former official of the Church of Scientology who was their marketing whiz then promoted to the ...

LAS VEGAS - The First Church of Scientology in Las Vegas dedicated a new building on Saturday. The relentless rain didn't stop Saturday's dedication. "We have opened new churches in cultural epicenters before, but talk about center stage, planet earth," exclaimed Ecclesiastical Leader David Miscavige. "This one stands in a town so bright you can even see it glowing from deep space." Several public officials attended the grand opening, including Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman. "As the mayor of the fastest ...

Les scientologues ont inauguré en grande pompe hier leur lieu de culte nouvellement redessiné dans le quartier Saint-Roch pour répondre à tous les besoins de leur religion, projet de six millions de dollars. L’église sera ouverte au public à compter d’aujourd’hui. Fermeture d’une portion de la rue Saint-Joseph, scènes montées avec plusieurs caméras, plus d’une centaine de sièges placés à même la rue et des centaines de fidèles mobilisés malgré le froid : les scientologues n’ont pas ménagé les efforts pour ...

As well as medical neglect, Peta O’Brien’s letter told of a hostile working environment, an arbitrary internal justice system and a culture of bullying among senior executives. [...]

You quote John Kaye's statement to Parliament about the former Scientology leader Marty Rathbun ("Intimidating and violent: defector", December 2). Mr Rathbun was removed from his position related to legal and public relations matters in the US in 1993, after having inexplicably deserted his post. He later returned and worked his way back into legal affairs. By 2002 his malfeasance became apparent and he was removed from any position of executive authority. The internal investigation leading to his removal also ...

Nancy Many appeared on a KNOP radio show today from Washington state to promote her new book, My Billion Year Contract. She talks about her experiences in Scientology as an aide to L. Ron Hubbard, being sent to the RPF by Hubbard where she was locked in the garage of the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater when she was five months pregnant, escaping from Scientology with her husband, disconnection and much more.

A former Scientology leader says bullying is widespread in the church, writes investigations reporter Nick O'Malley. Coerced abortion, violence, intimidation and demands for ever greater "donations" have become unofficial Church of Scientology policy, beginning at its Florida head office and leaching around the world, the church's most senior defector has said. Marty Rathbun, who until 2004 was the church's second-most powerful man, answering only to the present leader, David Miscavige, said the church leadership was obsessed with destroying dissent and increasing ...

Hollywood figures quit 'rip-off' church as Australian prime minister threatens parliamentary inquiry into its activities The security at the red-brick and glass-walled horseshoe of the John Joseph Moakley courthouse on Boston's waterfront was unusually tight. Anybody who was not a member of the city's bar association was swept with a search wand. Photo IDs were checked. Mobile phones were taken from guests, who included the Hollywood star Tom Cruise. The occasion was a memorial service for Scientology's top legal adviser for ...

Over the last several months, The St. Petersburg Times published a series of scathing articles on the Church of Scientology under the rubric “The Truth Rundown.” In 1980, the newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for an investigation of the church’s inner workings. Coverage of Scientology has long been an important story for The St. Petersburg Times, given that the church’s spiritual headquarters is located in nearby Clearwater, Fla. So it came as a bit of a shock when, on Friday, the ...

Senator Nick Xenophon's stunning attack on the Church of Scientology this week has shone a light on a worldwide group many former members accuse of ruining their lives through fear and abuse. SCIENTOLOGISTS lured Dean Detheridge off the street using their tried and tested technique of offering a personality test. He wasn't much interested, but they were extremely skilled and persistent persuaders, and he found he couldn't say no. Seven days later he was on staff in what turned out to ...