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Patron Meritorious
Translation of a sidebar article that accompanies an interview with Jenna Miscavige Hill in the February 6-12, 2013 issue of the French weekly news magazine L'Express:
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This sidebar appears on the last page of the interview with Jenna Miscavige Hill:In France, a long judicial battle
by Francis Koch
Like Germany, France has always viewed Scientology with critical suspicion and, contrary to Spain and Sweden, has refused to grant it the status of a church, much to the discontent of the United States, where Scientology is recognized as a religion and has a strong presence. In France, Scientology has long been a concern for parliamentarians, for the Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Cultic Abuses, and for anti-cult associations. The French justice system has not spared it either. In 2012, two Paris Scientology entities were convicted of organized fraud and fined 600,000 euros by the Paris court of appeal, a ruling that is being challenged to the Court of Cassation. This is a historic decision because, for the first time, Scientology was convicted as a legal entity. In the past, only the responsible individuals had incurred the wrath of the courts. Has Scientology's activity been hindered by all this?
"We are indestructible," says Éric Roux, one of Scientology's spokespersons in France, in response to L'Express. "The first attacks date from the 1970s, so now we're used to it."
In 1978, L. Ron Hubbard's fraudulent maneuvers landed Scientology's founder a four-year prison sentence in absentia. In 1997, the head of Scientology in Lyon was convicted of fraud and was handed a three-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of 500,000 francs, following the suicide of a Scientologist.
Despite this, the cult hasn't always had grounds to gripe about judges. In 2010, the Court of Cassation dismissed a case in which the first complaints from victims were filed ... in 1983. It was a complete judicial fiasco that terminated an investigation which was both intriguing and bizarre, since part of the case file mysteriously disappeared. However, Scientology's French officials do not have any reason to gloat because, if Scientology, as a legal entity, receives a second conviction, this time it would risk being dissolved.
Full size images:
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