Pendant quinze ans, le pianiste belge Alain Stoffen a vécu sous l'emprise de la secte. Il raconte son "Voyage au coeur de la Scientologie" (Privé), qui l'a manipulé, ruiné et a détruit sa famille. Extraits exclusifs. "L'argent commence à manquer" [Avril 1986. Alain Stoffen vient d'arriver au centre de Copenhague de la Scientologie qui doit lui délivrer son "état de Clair", pour lequel il a déjà déboursé 45 511,29 francs.] -Serre les boîtes! Olivier, mon auditeur, vient de me poser dans ...

BERLIN (AFP) — German critics savaged Tom Cruise's portrayal of Adolf Hitler's would-be killer in "Valkyrie" ahead of the film's release here this week, but relished a homegrown hero getting the Hollywood treatment. "Valkyrie" has been one of the most keenly awaited new releases in Germany this winter, thanks to the legendary status of its subject – Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg – and a string of controversies during its production. Although expectations were low here for Cruise in the role ...

PARIS (Reuters) - A French judge has ordered two branches of the Church of Scientology and seven of its leaders to stand trial for fraud, a judicial source said on Monday. The case is the latest in a series of legal battles that have pitted the French judicial system against the Scientologists, who are viewed by the authorities as a sect. The latest suit centers on a complaint made in 1998 by a woman who said she was enrolled into the ...

The Church of Scientology in France will be tried in court for "organised fraud", according to legal sources. The lawyer for one of the plaintiffs behind the case told the BBC that if convicted the controversial Church could be banned. The Church has faced stiff opposition in France as well as Germany, where it has been declared unconstitutional. The French branch of the Church of Scientology said it had been cleared of "numerous" similar charges. It said such charges should not ...

PARIS (AFP) - The Church of Scientology is to be tried for fraud, and seven of its members for illegally prescribing drugs, legal sources said Monday, in the latest clash between French officials and the controversial religion. The charges stem from a case taken by a woman who said she paid the church more than 20,000 euros (28,000 dollars) for lessons, books, drugs and an "electrometer," a device which the church says can measure a person's mental state. She allegedly made ...

The daughter of a member of Norway's parliament committed suicide hours after she received what her family claims were "devastating" results from a personality test administered by the Church of Scientology. Police in France, where the young woman was studying, are investigating. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported Tuesday evening that French police are checking alleged links between the suicide of Kaja Bordevich Ballo, age 20, and the Scientologists. Ballo's father, Olav Gunnar Ballo, is a member of the Norwegian Parliament for the ...

The mayor of the City of Light is to award Valentino with the Grand Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris, the equivalent of making him an honorary citizen of the French capital. Paris’ socialist mayor Bertrand Delanoe will pin the Grand Medaille on to the great couturier during the upcoming haute couture season in January, when Valentino will stage his final runway show. Among previous winners are the great fashion illustrator Erte, designer Gianni Versace, who was awarded the ...

As she strolls down Dadabhai Naoroji Road in Mumbai, Aussie Marion Whitta gets a tap on the shoulder from a tall Indian fan. "I bought Dianetics (the first book of a post-modern faith called Scientology) in 1987 in Melbourne," he says. He is in a yellow polo shirt inscribed with the Scientology logo on the back. He walks with her for about 50 paces, interrupting the conversation she is trying to have with friend. He recounts the moment he first encountered ...

An alarming book, fresh demands for a ban and a rejection of those calls for a prohibition: the controversial Scientology organization has been all over the media, yet still aims to missionize Europe. Ursula Caberta expressed her opinion loud and clear: "Scientology is a dangerous, extremist organization which has declared war on Europe." As Commissioner for Scientology issues for Hamburg, Caberta is considered an expert on the subject. She has been observing the movement since 1992 and just presented her new ...

Last Sunday, the German Protestant Church's religious cult specialist called Tom Cruise the "Goebbels of Scientology." This comparison of the War of the Worlds actor and the head of the Nazi propaganda machine is only the most recent example of a German official having harsh words for the Church of Scientology. Last month, a German Defense Ministry spokesman said Cruise couldn't film his movie at military sites because the actor had "publicly professed to being a member of the Scientology cult." ...

Sect-like groups are profiting from the misery in riot-stricken French suburbs to attract new recruits under the guise of offering humanitarian aid, warns an official report. Organisations including the Church of Scientology, labelled a cult in France, are targeting vulnerable residents in the country's poor, high immigration suburbs, it claims. France's official sects watchdog, the Interministerial Mission in the Fight Against Cults (Miviludes), said the situation called for "extreme vigilance". It said the activities of sect-like groups had increased in three ...

A HIGHER PROFILE ; CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OPENING MORE VISIBLE FACILITIES, INCLUDING ONE IN NEW HAVEN FRANCES GRANDY TAYLOR; Courant Staff Writer Hartford Courant 09-09-2005 A HIGHER PROFILE ; CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY OPENING MORE VISIBLE FACILITIES, INCLUDING ONE IN NEW HAVEN Byline: FRANCES GRANDY TAYLOR; Courant Staff Writer Edition: STATEWIDE Section: LIFE Despite such high-profile adherents as Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Chick Corea and Kirstie Alley, the Church of Scientology can seem as mysterious to outsiders as its reclusive founder, science-fiction ...

Paris — A Paris judge has ruled that a 13-year-old case against the Church of Scientology alleging fraud and illegal practice of medicine cannot go to trial because the statute of limitations has expired, a judicial official said Tuesday. Judge Colette Bismuth-Sauron ruled Friday that there was a lack of progress in the investigation and rejected the case on procedural grounds, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The criminal probe into 16 leaders of the church was opened in ...

France has become the first country in the world to introduce specific legislation aimed at controlling the activities of cults. The objective is to combat the 175-odd movements of a quasi-religious nature considered a danger to society. The Scientology movement and the Unification Church of the Rev Sun Myung Moon immediately denounced the bill - endorsed almost unanimously on Wednesday by national assembly deputies - as anti-democratic and in breach of human rights laws. Roman Catholic and Protestant leaders have expressed ...