“Hello, leaders of Scientology. We are Anonymous.
Over the years, we have been watching you. Your campaigns of
misinformation, your suppression of dissent, your litigious nature:
all these things have caught our eye. With the leakage of your
latest propaganda video into mainstream circulation, the extent of
your malign influence over those who have come to trust you as leaders has
been made clear to us. Anonymous has therefore decided that your
organization should be destroyed…We are anonymous. We are legion.
We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.”
“Message to Scientology”
January 21, 2008

It’s after midnight on March 15 at the Electric Lotus, a hip Indian bar and restaurant in Hollywood, when the secret meeting begins.

Five scraggly young men and a Goth girl with purple-streaked hair gather at a long dining table in a dark back room. An Asian dude urgently devours basmati rice as if he hasn’t eaten in days. A blond punk in a faded Pixies T-shirt and a blackand-white camouflage jacket keeps glancing furtively at the door. Finally, a clean-cut 22-year-old in a T-shirt and jeans speaks up. No one
here knows each other’s real name, so he introduces himself under his pseudonym, Ryan. “We don’t know what will happen tomorrow,” Ryan says as the others nod. “We don’t know what they’re capable of.”

Ryan’s talking about the Church of Scientology, and the group at this table are foot soldiers in an underground army that’s waging war against the controversial religion. They call themselves Anonymous, and with the zeal of crusaders and the flair of viral marketers, they have harnessed
the Internet to assemble—and attack. They fired their first salvos in the vast, borderless void of the Web; lately they have mobilized in the real world.

They take to the streets in Guy Fawkes masks and business suits, like extras in V for Vendetta, staging protests in over 100 cities, from Seattle to Sydney, sometimes with more than 10,000 people. Just like the one scheduled for 10 hours from now.

The Church of Scientology brands Anonymous cyberterrorists; Anonymous counters that the church is an oppressive, profit-hungry cult. To a degree, they may both be right, and as highly sophisticated clandestine organizations they have more in common than either side would like to
admit. The migration from cyberspace to the real world of Anonymous represents more than just a fight between two cutthroat combatants: It’s the electronic mob personified, a new dawn of social protest engineered by young people with tools most people over 30 doesn’t understand.

“This is our generation’s movement,” says Sarah, a twentysomething “Anon,” as members call themselves. “Every 40 years someone stands up and does something. This is our generation’s way of doing something.”

As the others dig into their tandoori chicken, Ryan stands up to address some inherent challenges they face. “This is a big sociological experiment,” he says. “How does a group with no leaders organize?”

With a sense of both dread and excitement, Ryan outlines the plans for the next day, when the SoCal contingent of Anonymous will descend on Scientology’s L.A. headquarters. Though their group has an amorphous structure and no true chiefs, Ryan, an articulate video game developer
from San Diego, is one of the main organizers. In a hushed voice awash in anxiety and paranoia—perhaps a natural by-product of an ongoing struggle with one of the world’s most feared religions— he says that “Rorschach,” one of the most active SoCal Anons, woke up to find
a pool of vomited blood next to his cat Mudkips’ food dish. The dish smelled like ammonia. The cat was missing and hasn’t been seen since. Ryan admits he has no idea for sure who, if anyone, was responsible. “But this is the kind of thing Scientology does,” Ryan says.
“They poisoned his cat. They killed Mudkips.”

Monday, January 14, 2008 started like any other day on YouTube.

A balding guy with crooked glasses made chamomile tea in one video. Asian kids in a hot pink room danced to hip-hop in another. Then, at 2 a.m., a nine-minute, 26-second clip appeared
on the site under the seemingly benign title “Tom Cruise Scientology Video.” Against an amber-hued backdrop, the now-infamous clip shows Cruise behaving as we’d never
seen him before: passionate, zealous, and seemingly unhinged as he discusses the virtues of his chosen religion. “Being a Scientologist, when you drive past an accident, it’s
not like anyone else. As you drive past, you know you have to do something about it because you know you’re the only one that can really help,” he intoned, Mission Impossible–like
music playing in the background. “We are the authorities on the mind…We are the way to happiness.”

In the video, intended as an internal piece of church propaganda, the star of Risky Business and Top Gun is by turns earnest and fanatical. It’s a bravura performance, and one the general public was never intended to see. Days earlier Marc Ebner, a journalist who has written
about Scientology for many years, had been leaked the video, and urgently spread the word. “I wanted to put it up on my Web site, but I wasn’t able to do it overnight, so I immediately
put out a mass e-mail to all my friends in the media,” he says. “Nick Denton at Gawker Media seemed to be the only guy up at two in the morning on a Sunday. He saw that these clips showed Cruise at his most insane and said, ‘These are great! I want more!’ So he posted them immediately.”

“If Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch was an eight on the scale of scary,” gushed Denton on his site. “This is a 10.” Denton uploaded the video to YouTube and posted a link from Gawker.

Almost immediately, the video was everywhere. Then suddenly, on January 18, the video was
gone. In its place was a message: This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by the Church of Scientology International. But the age of “no longer available” is no longer valid. The Napster generation expects content to be free and accessible, always and forever,
online. So while the mainstream media were busy covering the Cruise story ad nauseam, a fringe, Web-based community was taking heed as well—and they didn’t like what they saw.

Though it’s impossible to characterize any global collective of unidentified people, Anonymous members largely fall into the category of young, tech-savvy, dark-humored Internet geeks.

The community began coalescing on 4chan.org, a massive image board founded in 2003 by an anime aficionado dubbed “Moot” as a place where users could upload and discuss random
photos culled from the Web. Today it’s the 56th most popular site in America. The funniest pictures and comments become running jokes called memes, many of which reach the mainstream: Rick Rolling (Rick Astley’s goofy “Never Gonna Give You Up” video); the Lolcatz (shots of freaky felines with nonsensical captions); Tay Zonday’s infamous “Chocolate
Rain” clip, which racked up over 23 million hits on YouTube.

The point, besides laughs, is a sense of community and a celebration of free speech, and to foster it all users register under the same handle:Anonymous. They can say anything, and some do—hurling racist and homophobic epithets with abandon. Like an angry child, Anonymous will pick a target for its collective rage and lash out with frightening cruelty.

The worst happens on a 4chan directory called “Random” or “/b/.” Some of the group’s stunts are harmless. Others, like when they pose as kids to entrap Internet pedophiles, or when they attacked the Web site of white supremacist leader Hal Turner, are arguably noble. But at times the mob acts out ruthlessly, from flooding MySpace pages with gay porn to allegedly calling in bomb threats at the Super Bowl.

On September 11, 2007, one user uploaded a photo of what appeared to be pipe bombs, with a message detailing plans to blow up his high school the next day. “I, along with two other Anonymous, will charge the building armed with a Bushmaster AR -15,” he wrote. The kid was
arrested the next day. A Fox News report branded Anonymous “hackers on steroids,” “domestic terrorists,” and an “Internet hate machine.”

By January 15, the day the video was yanked, the Tom Cruise discussion thread on 4chan turned into a call to arms.

“I think it’s time for /b/ to do something big,” posted an Anonymous user at 7:37 p.m. “I’m talking about ‘hacking’ or ‘taking down’ the official Scientology Web site. It’s time to use our resources to do something we believe is right. It’s time to do something big again,/b/. Talk amongst one another, find a better place to plan it, and then carry out what can and must be done.”

The Anons began doing what they do best: tapping the Internet’s vast resources for their own goals. They started sharing the most outlandish stories they could find about Scientology: how the church was founded by L. Ron Hubbard, a middling science-fiction writer who believed that
an intergalactic warlord name Xenu killed billions of beings, whose souls now infest humans. But more than the far-fetched origin story, it was the church’s alleged earthbound practices that Anonymous found so disturbing: how the church functions more like a pyramid scheme than
a traditional religion; its “disconnect” policy of splitting up families; its history of punishing wayward members. And perhaps most galling to the free-speech obsessives ofAnonymous, the church’s campaign to silence dissent and intimidate critics.

In 1965, Hubbard launched the policy of “fair game,” asserting that so-called enemies of the church “may be deprived of property or injured by any means by any Scientologist without
any discipline of the Scientologist. May be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.” Though the church denies that the policy still exists, critics and former members insist nothing has changed.

For several days, Anonymous mustered its resources, discussing how they might strike and if it was even feasible:
—“mission impossible. a random image board can’t take down a pseudo-
religion with the backing of wealthy people and an army of lawyers.”
—“then don’t get involved if you don’t think it’s possible.”
—“start small, Anon. The Web site, first. Maybe raid the forums, etc.
etc. We are thousands strong, they can’t sue all of us.”
—“sounds good. LET THE RAID COMMENCE .”

So, on January 18, the faceless army known as Anonymous attacked.

Initially, the response took the form of typical “raids”: Scientology Web sites were hacked
and overwhelmed with phantom users. Endless “black faxes” (pages filled entirely with a uniform black tone) spooled through Scientology fax machines, depleting ink cartridges and rendering them useless. Pizzas arrived at churches around the world, including a reported 300 at the headquarters in Amsterdam alone.

Finally, on January 21, after several days honing the video, the “Message to Scientology” hit YouTube like some mash-up of Nine Inch Nails and 1984. In a cryptic computerized voice-over, as dark time-lapse storm clouds rolled over an unnamed city, Anonymous let their mission be
known: “We acknowledge you as a serious opponent, and we are prepared for a long, long campaign. You will not prevail forever against the angry masses of the body politic. Your methods, hypocrisy, and the artlessness of your organization have sounded its death knell. You cannot hide. We are everywhere.”

Within four days, “Message to Scientology” had racked up 800,000 views, but in the meantime some of the more nefarious elements of Anonymous seemed to be acting out on their own.

News reports surfaced that 24 Scientology centers in California had received suspicious packages of white powder. The church called in the FBI to investigate and released a statement
branding Anonymous “cyberterrorists who hide their identities behind masks and computer anonymity.” That the powder turned out to be harmless was beside the point. “That wasn’t us,” Ryan insists, though he admits it’s inherently impossible to say who “us” was. Some Anons began wondering if the more malicious members of the community were forming a commando splinter group—a virtual special ops force. Othersbegan to suspect that Scientology itself had conjured up the event.

Still, some veteran opponents of the church—such as 52-year-old Mark Bunker, a wry and avuncular TV producer who had been fighting the church for a decade—were concerned with Anonymous’ methods.

On January 27, Bunker posted a message to Anonymous on YouTube. Despite his excitement that Anonymous was seeking to expose the truth about Scientology, Bunker challenged the group to put aside the hacker tricks and focus on political action. “The tactics Anonymous was
using—like shutting down Scientology Web sites—were horribly wrong,” he told Maxim. But rather than becoming irate with him, Anonymous embraced Bunker and his message, affectionately dubbing him “Wise Beard Man.”

The day of Bunker’s message, a new video appeared on YouTube under the heading “A
Call to Action.” The familiar robotic staccato voice called on Anonymous to take its crusade
to the streets with real-world protests at church centers everywhere. “Be very wary of
the 10th of February,” the voice warned. So, on February 10, Anonymous finally
moved offline. It was a momentous occasion: In hundreds of cities across the globe, thousands of protesters gathered dressed in outlandishcostumes. Outside the Scientology church on Hollywood Boulevard, Bunker, Ebner, and other old-school opponents of the religion joined
Anonymous members carrying signs reading scientology destroys families, honk for xenu, and religion should be free. It was a sight unlike anything they’d seen before. For decades the church had been notorious for targeting critics, but here were critics who were, by their
very design, impossible to pin down.

It was only a matter of time before Scientology struck back.

On March 12 the church posted a video on YouTube: “To inform Anonymous members who may be unaware of the criminal acts committed by their leaders, and to prevent others duced a video to provide the facts.” In the video, a disembodied voice runs through a litany of acts: “While claiming they are peaceful, in less than three weeks Anonymous members made or encouraged 8,139 harassing or threatening phone calls, 3.6 million malicious e-mails, 141 million
hits against church Web sites, 10 acts of vandalism, 22 bomb threats, and eight death threats against members and officials of the Church of Scientology. These are the facts.”

As far as the church is concerned, “Claims of altruistic purposes enunciated in Anonymous’ statements to the press are no different than those by any cyberterrorist or hate groups.” In a 10-page letter to Maxim, Karin Pouw, Scientology’s director of public affairs, likened Anonymous’
actions to those of the Nazis and the KKK: “The church and its parishioners seek only to halt the illegal campaign of violence, terror, and intimidation perpetrated by individuals who call themselves Anonymous.” Scientology wasn’t taking any chances, though. A video posted March
13 revealed the identities, and faces, of three Anons, including Rorschach, Ryan’s friend whose cat went missing later that day.

It’s the morning of March 15, And Ryan and the others slip into their business suits and Guy Fawkes masks to head for the protest.

Today is L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday celebration, so Ryan dons a shiny purple party hat. When they join hundreds of other protesters outside Big Blue—their nickname for the church on Sunset
Boulevard—several Scientologists stand waiting to greet them. Cleancut young men and attractive women in khakis and buttoned blue shirts mill in front of the entrance, above which rises a multicolored balloon arch.

For now police keep the protesters coralled across Sunset on the sidewalk in front of the Kaiser Permanente medical center, but as the crowd swells, ever more Anons cross the boulevard toward the church.

Among the protesters, a party atmosphere prevails. In addition to countless Anons in Guy Fawkes masks, there’s Snow White, Freddy Krueger, Spider-Man, Richard Nixon, and Optimus Prime. As the number of protesters grows—eventually to 600—they begin to chant, “Tax the cult! Tax the cult!” A plane flies overhead with the banner honk/yell if you think scientology is a cult. With each car that honks, Ryan and the others cheer and pump their fists. TV crews mill about, interviewing Anonymous members as well as old-guard anti-Scientologists such as Bunker.

But the Scientologists have also come prepared, mounting a 12-foot video monitor near the entrance to Big Blue to drown out the noise. Suddenly, an Anonymous protester with a red bandanna covering his face comes sprinting down the sidewalk. “A gun!” he yells. “There’s a
guy with a gun!” Soon more Anons nervously chime in. They’re talking about an elderly man with a white beard, white hair, glasses, a beige blazer, and brown pants. Rumors spread that he’s a from being misled by Anonymous propaganda, the church has pro-private eye working for the church, and though police question him, he’s ultimately let go. An Anon rushes up to videotape the scene and asks the man, “Why would you bring a gun to a peaceful protest?”
“I’m not here for a peaceful protest, friend,” he replies. “Well, you got people upset because you’re brandishing a gun,” the Anon says. “I’m not brandishing anything,” the old guy replies, palms upturned. He quickly disappears behind the barricades.

At around 1 p.m., a bustle of activity stirs on the sidewalk near Ryan. Beneath a cluster of trees across Sunset, two ostensible protesters in Guy Fawkes masks huddle next to
him. Each holds an identical sign. At the top it reads just for lulz. Below are two photos: one of Ryan in a Guy Fawkes mask and one of Ryan unmasked. Below the picture is his full name and address, with the message: anonymous no more. A red arrow points down at Ryan where he stands. With every move the pair trail him as others in Fawkes masks close in. “I’m Gareth!” one Anon begins shouting, using Ryan’s now-revealed real name. Other masked protesters join in, like the scene in Spartacus. “I’m Gareth!” Soon they’re all shouting, “I’m Gareth!” And, of course, there’s no way to tell who is real or fake.

But the actual Gareth is reeling. After pacing around, he jumps into a getaway car driven by his friends. They careen away, checking in the rearview mirror at a silver Toyota Sienna minivan in hot pursuit. One Anon takes pictures of the van. Another writes down the plates. The chase goes on for 30 minutes, until they make a last-second exit off the freeway. “It’s one thing when Scientologists go after other people,” Gareth says as the car weaves in and out of traffic. “It’s another when it happens to you.” The photo on the sign seems to have been taken in his garage in San Diego. “They must have followed me there,” he says. He worries about his family and friends and the harassment they might face. “The guy with the sign asked how Rorschach was.”

It’s difficult to say what the next battle in the war will entail and how long the Anonymous crusade will last.

After all, the YouTube generation has a tendency to bore easily, and it’s possible that some new target will catch the fancy of Anonymous, that they’ll collectively shift course like a flock of birds or an easily distracted child. But the damage may well be done.

The Church of Scientology has always maintained power by controlling its secrets, and
the Internet has lifted that veil of secrecy. For decades protesters have preached the evils of the church, and in Anonymous the traditional anti-Scientologists have finally found the muscle they need.

Still, despite evidence that enrollment in the church is dwindling, Scientology claims to be stronger than ever. “You are missing the real story,” Karin Pouw, the church representative, told Maxim. “In fact, the Church of Scientology has expanded more in the last five years than in the previous five decades combined.”

While Anonymous has more protests on the horizon, there’s already talk about applying its full-frontal assaults to other targets: politicians, warmongers, polluters. And Anonymous may not have to stay masked forever. As Marc Bunker notes, “Eventually you have to man up, stand
up, and be counted. You’re going to have more believability if you show your face and people can look at you and see you.”

When asked how he feels now that he has been unmasked, Ryan falls quiet before admitting to a feeling that surprises him: empowerment. While there remains a certain safety in being unknown, Ryan is ready to come out and take a stand, and he doesn’t care who knows his real name. He’s Gareth Alan Cales. “Now I don’t have to worry about hiding anymore,”
he says. “There’s a sense that I can do anything.”

***********************************************************************

THE OFFENDIX- Decoding the strange, underground world of Anonymous

4chan [fôr’chan] n.
A virtual home base to Anonymous. 44 separate image boards with topics from porn to anime, 4chan’s noregistration policy lets users post any comment as “Anonymous.”

“Chocolate Rain” [chô’kuh lit rān] n.
This bizarre YouTube smash’s composer credits his subsequent Dr Pepper commercial and Weezer cameo to 4chan.

/b/ [bē] n.
With over 137 million posts, /b/ (orRandom) is the most trafficked board on 4chan and is marked by dark humor, inside jokes, and rampant homophobia and racism.

Lolcatz [lol’kats] n.
Felines with added, occasionaly funny captions in “lolspeak,” an unruly version of pigeon English.

Meme [me-m] n.
Coined as a scientific unit of cultural evolution, meme became a quick descriptor of a running Internet joke, video, or idea that has pervaded the mainstream, e.g., Lolcatz.

Lulz [luls] n.
The bastardization of LOL . “It’s all for the lulz” has become something of an Internet philosophy—from bomb threats to toying with pedophiles in chat rooms, it’s all for fun.

Mudkips [mud’kips] n.
A creature in the Nintendo game Pokémon, mudkips became comic after a tale posted on /b/ described a plushy ’kip, a teen, and an act of intercourse. Look it up yourself.

Epic Fail Guy [ep’ik fa - l gī] n.
Originally a stick figure that made appearances on 4chan posts. An Anonymous’ addition of a Guy Fawkes mask made him a mascot of any unfunny 4chan thread.

Rick Rolling [rik’ro-l ing] v.
Disguising links so they lead not to the intended destination but to Rick Astley’s video “Never
Gonna Give You Up

IMHO
FACTNet

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To learn more about the creative and peaceful protest side of Anonymous’ s goals regarding Scientology we suggest you watch the following Anonymous protest event video:

IMHO
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Factnet’s mission is to be the largest online news and referral service as well as research archive for defending freedom of thought and mind from all forms of unethical influence tactics, mind control and mental coercion/torture used in destructive cults and fundamentalist groups. Since 1993 millions have been helped. FACTNet is a tax deductible, IRS Approved 501(c)(3) non profit organization. For breaking news, personal stories, recovery information, support groups, and expert referrals relating to our mission please visit our web site at http://www.factnet.org If you would like to view over 350,000 postings on various cults, comment on this editorial/opinion/news or to share your personal experiences, go to one of our many various message boards at http://www.factnet.org/vbforum
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LEAVING YOUR RELIGION?

It’s not the end of the world! Join us at a recovery retreat.

“RELEASE AND RECLAIM”

August 15-17, 2008, with Dr. Marlene Winell

Do you feel alone in your struggle for healing? Come to a supportive and powerful weekend with others who can understand you — an oasis from dogmatic teachings and judgmental groups. We’ll rant and rave, tell our stories, discuss the issues, visualize, role-play, dance and draw – whatever it takes to think for ourselves and reclaim our lives. A joyful, empowered life is your birthright and you can start now.

WHEN: FRIDAY, Aug. 15, 7PM - SUNDAY, Aug. 17, 3PM.

WHERE: A beautiful house in Berkeley, California,
with hot tub and other amenities.

COST: $320 for the workshop, $125 for room and board. Financial need considered & options available.

TO REGISTER: Call 510-292-0509 or send an email to recoveryfromreligion@gmail.com. Register soon as group size is limited.

Dr. Marlene Winell is a psychologist & author of “Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists & Others Leaving their Religion.” She has a practice in Berkeley & also counsels individuals by phone. For more info, mailing list, comments about retreats, & Youtube link, visit: www.marlenewinell.net. Or call Dr. Winell for a complimentary discussion about your interest.

Clips from a weekend recovery retreat called “Release & Reclaim,” with Dr. Marlene Winell, who counsels people with damaging experiences with restrictive religion, esp. Christian fundamentalism.

IMHO
FACTNet

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Factnet’s mission is to be the largest online news and referral service as well as research archive for defending freedom of thought and mind from all forms of unethical influence tactics, mind control and mental coercion/torture used in destructive cults and fundamentalist groups. Since 1993 millions have been helped. FACTNet is a tax deductible, IRS Approved 501(c)(3) non profit organization. For breaking news, personal stories, recovery information, support groups, and expert referrals relating to our mission please visit our web site at http://www.factnet.org If you would like to view over 350,000 postings on various cults, comment on this editorial/opinion/news or to share your personal experiences, go to one of our many various message boards at http://www.factnet.org/vbforum
F.A.C.T.Net, Inc. PO Box 1315 , Ignacio, CO. 81137 USA, E-mail: manage@factnet.org

Please forward this email to all in your address books and networks and request them to fax and write to George Cardona and Christine Ewell at the U.S. Attorney’s office, at the address and fax number below, demanding an immediate investigation in the matters set forth in my letter below.

You should reference my letter by date and the Re: line, add whatever you wish to say, even if it is only that you are joining in the complaint and request for an immediate investigation.

You need to rebut their outrageous comment of this afternoon: “We do serious work at the U.S. Attorney’s office and we do not have time to look at things of this nature. If people are terrified then tell them to call 911.” You are at liberty to quote this statement from their office (A.U.S.A. Robert Dugdale, Esq) and to express your amazement, outrage and disgust at such a flippant attitude to serious and documented matters.

The press is also welcome to notified of this too.

http://forums.enturbulation.org/7-general-discussion/subway-request-graham-berry-all-anonymous-please-read-23752/3/#post471824

GRAHAM E. BERRY

ATTORNEY & COUNSELOR AT LAW

3384 McLAUGHLIN AVENUE

LOS ANGELES, CA 90066

Telephone and Facsimile: (310) 745-3771

Email: grahamberry@ca.rr.com

July 24, 2008

By Hand Delivery

George Cardona, Esq.

Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney,

United States Attorney’s Office,

Central District of California,

312 N. Spring Street,

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Telephone: (213) 894-8323

FAX: (213) 894-0141

Christine Ewell, Esq.

Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney,

U.S. Attorney’s Office,

Central District of California,

312 N. Spring Street,

Los Angeles, CA 90012

Telephone: (213) 894-4443

FAX: (213) 894-0141

Re: Civil Rights and R.I.C.O. violations by the Church of Scientology International, et al.

Dear Mr. Cardona and Ms. Ewell:

I represent the global human and civil rights group of Internet activists known as Anonymous, and the Mr. and Mrs. XXXXXX family who are the initial complainants herein, requesting an immediate investigation, preservation of evidence and grand jury presentation.

You may enquire of your Mr. Thom Mrozek regarding my bona fides. He is an old friend although I have not seen him for a decade. It was my intent to email you this letter with the referenced documents attached. However, your assistant Bonnie graciously informed me that is not possible. I was to fax this letter without enclosures but my New York flight this morning was cancelled and I am now departing tonight. Accordingly, I have been able to include hard copies of the documents referenced and to have them hand-delivered to your offices. The July 23, 2008 letter to Subway restaurants sets forth the reason that has accelerated my presentation of these matters to your office.

Yesterday I spoke briefly with Mr. Roger West of your office and he referred me to you both. Thereafter I left a voicemail message on Ms. Ewell’s telephone line but I have not heard back from her. While leaving the voicemail an echo developed on the telephone and I made mention of that in my message. In that regard I have been recently informed by an L.A.P.D. officer that the Church of Scientology is “all over” my telephone and computer. Indeed, the Scientology enterprise has expressly admitted to it in the past and many callers enquire as to whether there is a bugging device on my telephone. In fact, because of these issues, one member of the L.A.P.D. major crimes unit would only communicate with me via cell phone.

This communication at this time is prompted by the matters set forth in the attached letter to Subway restaurants regarding civil rights violations that occurred at one of their Los Angeles restaurants in association with representatives of the Church of Scientology. See the first attached document labeled ‘Anon. subway. Letter.07.22.2008.” As you will read, Scientology and Subway restaurants now appear to be working together in furtherance of the national and international civil rights and R.I.C.O. violations set forth in the attached draft PDF document labeled “Anon.Berry.Decl.07.22.2008” (the Draft declaration). It is the potential loss of security camera and other evidence that prompts this complaint and investigation at this time.

As far as the July 12, 2008 Subway restaurant incident is concerned, the immediate complainants and victims are Mr. and Mrs. XXXXX and their young children. Their telephone number is XXXXXX and to the extent you need may need my consent to speak with them you may treat this letter as your authority to do so. The entire incident can be viewed on the numerous video links and other reports that are hyperlinked within the attached document labeled ‘Anon. subway. Letter.07.22.2008.”

You should note that similar incidents are now occurring outside of the Church’s international management and Office of special Affairs building at 6331 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles.

Part 2 of the video…

The “angry woman” is Office of Special Affairs attorney Ava Paquette, the wife of the Los Angeles City Attorney R.I.C.O. consent decree supervisor Paul Paquette, Esq. You will also note, from the R.I.C.O. matters herein, that the head of the L.A.P.D. racketeering consent unit is a senior Scientologist Gerald Chaleff who is himself a primary participant in some of the Scientology R.I.C.O. conduct complained of in the attached documents.

In connection with the Boston matters involving Gregg Housh [Berry. Decl. 07.22.2008 (in particular, paras. 268-270)], I am advised that the F.B.I. office in Boston, MA., is involved. I can provide you with the Special Agent’s number on my return from the East coast.

Finally, on September 4 and 5, 2008 the Government of the State of Hamburg in Germany is hosting a meeting of government representatives and Scientology experts from across Europe (including government officials from Great Britain, France, Belgium, Russia, etc.). The topic is ‘This is Scientology Today.’ I will be addressing the conference upon the Church of Scientology’s infiltration and corruption of the United States political, legal and law enforcement agencies.

Currently, the German, Belgium and French governments are actively discussing a total ban on the Church of Scientology on the grounds, among others, that it is a criminal, money-laundering, totalitarian threat to the democratic state. Furthermore, that it is a foreign headquartered psycho-terror group whose activities are directed from Los Angeles and Gilman Hot Springs, California. If you would like, I can connect your office to the various European prosecutors engaged in criminal prosecutions and criminal investigations involving the Church of Scientology, and the European national intelligence agencies that are also monitoring and investigating the Church’s secular and unlawful activities, policies and conduct.

The religious beliefs of the Church of Scientology are properly not at issue and irrelevant. I have testified before a German parliamentary commission on these issues and I have been flown to Germany on three previous occasions to meet with German officials and to brief the regional chiefs of The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (the Federal German internal security police).

The necessity for this fax is caused by a trip I am making to New York. I am leaving later this morning and will return next Wednesday evening, July 30, 2008. I would like to actually meet with you as soon as possible after that. In the meantime I may be reached via this email address grahamberry@ca.rr.com or my cell phone 310-902-6381. At the time of that meeting I can provide you with a DVD containing these and other documents so that the Internet hyperlinks can aid your review and investigation.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this letter and its contents. I can assure you that over 9,000 of my “Anonymous” clients are eagerly and anxiously awaiting the Federal Government’s response to these matters.

Very truly yours,

Graham E. Berry

Enclosures and related comments:

(1) Letter to Subway Restaurants dated 07.22.2008; re July 12, 2008 civil rights violations; to be read in conjunction with;

(2) Letter to L.A.P.D. dated 04.11.08;

(3) Letter to L.A.P.D. dated 06.26.08;

(4) Berry. Decl. 07.22.2008 (in particular, paras. 80-283);

(5) Letter to L.A.P.D. dated 07.03.08 re continuing R.I.C.O. violations;

(6) Letter to L.A.P.D. dated 07.03.08 re continuing R.I.C.O. violations;

(7) Letter to L.A.P.D. dated 11.02.01 (Kirby, LawEnforcementSummary) re continuing R.I.C.O. violations;

(8) Cipriano Vexatious Hearing Transcript dated 08.20.99, re continuing R.I.C.O. violations;

(9) Berry. Decl. 07.22.2008 (in particular, paras. 284-334);

(10) Berry. Decl. 07.22.2008 (in particular, paras. 336-379) re Government inaction and L.A.P.D. infiltration.

(11) Berry letter to Department of Justice dated January 21, 2002 and the Department’s responses indicating lack of proper investigation. Indeed, the July 9, 2002 DoJ letter clearly refers and relates to some other complaint and request. No where in my January 21, 2008 is there anything mentioning the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California and two F.B.I. agents. As for the August 21, 2002, it boggles the mind that a DoJ paralegal would be asked to respond and state that there are no criminal civil rights violations. The fraudulently procured vexatious litigant ruling has been a costly and continuing criminal civil rights violation. In addition, the DoJ failed to request and review the stack of supporting evidence and it failed to even have a meeting with me to discuss these matters. The evidence is available for delivery to your offices when requested.

GRAHAM E. BERRY

ATTORNEY & COUNSELOR AT LAW

3384 McLAUGHLIN AVENUE

LOS ANGELES, CA 90066

Telephone and Facsimile: (310) 745-3771

Email: grahamberry@ca.rr.com

July 23, 2008

By First Class Mail, Email & Fax IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

The President and Chief Operating Officer,

Subway Restaurant Headquarters,

325 Bic Drive,

Milford, CT 06461-3059

Fax (203) 783-7893

Email: franchise@subway.com and hr@subway.com and comments@subway.com

The President and Chief Operating Officer,

CG Investments, Inc. DBA Subway

435 North Beverly Drive,

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Fax (310) 858-8153

Email: info@subwaycgi.com

The Manager,

Subway Store #24202, Kaiser on Sunset

4700 West Sunset Boulevard,

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Fax: (323) 666-2804

Re: Violations of Federal criminal and civil rights statutes, July 12, 2008 et seq.

Gentlemen:

I represent the global civil and human rights group known as Anonymous (Google and You Tube: Anonymous and Scientology). I also represent a group of victims of serious misconduct involving one of your restaurants and the Church of Scientology. It is engaged in a serious conspiracy to violate the civil rights of those participating in “Anonymous” global protests against Church of Scientology human and civil rights abuses, and other wrongful conduct such as blackmail, bribery, fraud and the obstruction/perversion of justice. Indeed, certain federal and state law enforcement agencies have commenced quiet investigations regarding some of these matters.

On Saturday July 12, 2008 a series of federal criminal and civil rights violations occurred at your Subway Restaurant #24202 located at 4700 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90027. The purpose of this letter is not to set forth the incontrovertible facts and participants. They are known and, at the appropriate time, the actual and extensive video and still camera footage can be produced. Among the statutes that appear to have been violated are 18 U.S.C. sections 241 and 245. I have been advised that there are eight or more video cameras networked and recording all that occurs inside Subway Restaurant #24202.

The purpose of this letter is to demand the immediate preservation of all evidence including the video film for the day of July 12, 2008 and the computer hard drives on which those images are stored.

This matter is being concurrently referred to Federal and State prosecutors and law enforcement. Failure to preserve the video tape evidence might be considered to constitute obstruction of justice and evidence of actual participation in what is demonstrably a Church of Scientology Office of Special Affairs national and international conspiracy, among other things, to violate the civil rights of thousands of young Americans. In the case of Subway Store #24202, the persons targeted included three young children.

You can read and view some of the extensive public outrage at what occurred at your Subway Restaurant #24202 by reviewing the Internet hyperlinks set forth below, or by searching Subway and Incident and Scientology on Google Web and Google Groups and You Tube and Vimeo.com. Yesterday both television and newspaper reporters contacted me for information on the incident.

http://tinyurl.com/58eoym or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXxm8yrb7rE [Noelle North, Scientology & Subway Sandwiches]

http://tinyurl.com/5jf6pc or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5W8ALB0SNU

http://tinyurl.com/5za26y or http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=subway+incident+and+scientology&btnG=Google+Search

http://tinyurl.com/67of8e or http://groups.google.com/groups?q=subway+incident+and+scientology&start=0&scoring=d&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&

http://tinyurl.com/6orsvm or http://forums.enturbulation.org/122-fair-game/subway-incident-update-22483/

http://tinyurl.com/5fru5o or http://forums.enturbulation.org/122-fair-game/three-kids-cult-civil-right-lesson-22334/

I have also been informed that representatives of the Church of Scientology’s Office of Special Affairs have already met with some of your executives, employees and agents in what appears to be an attempt to destroy evidence and suborn perjury. Google Web and Google Groups: Office of Special Affairs.

I have been further informed that Kendrick L. Moxon, Esq. is one of the Church of Scientology attorneys who has been meeting with your company agents and working on “handling” this incident, and thus implicating it in the ongoing R.I.C.O. and civil rights violations involved here and elsewhere. In that regard I suggest you search ‘Moxon and Scientology’ on Google Web, Google Groups and Google Images. He was an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest ever criminal infiltration of the United States government. In that regard I suggest you Google Web and Google Groups the Internet search term Operation Snow White.

Another Scientologist employed with Moxon and OSA was independently witnessed working within your restaurant during the civil rights violations on July 12, 2008 and, among other things, assisting with the taping of the offensive and discriminatory notice on the Subway restaurant door; advising that Subway restaurants will not provide service to those protesting the Church of Scientology under the constitutional cloak of anonymity to avoid Scientology retaliation and intimidation.

That Scientology employee, who was working with, and sanctioned by, your restaurant’s employees, is Ed Parkin and I suggest you Google Web and Google Groups the search phrase: Ed Parkin and Scientology. His presence on the Subway Restaurant #24202 security cameras is one of the reasons Scientology’s legal teams have been working with your Director of Operations for CG Investments, Mr. Frank Neiroozi.

Mr. Neiroozi has advised one of the victims that your company will not be preserving the evidence of these criminal civil rights violations unless a subpoena is immediately served, thus requiring the immediate filing of a private civil rights suit against your company just to preserve the video evidence. The implications and potential consequences of what Mr. Frank Neiroozi has reportedly said and done in that regard are obvious, and possibly alarming to you and your counsel.

Had Mr. Frank Neiroozi and your other agents not involved themselves in the Church of Scientology operation to intimidate and violate civil rights, and had properly responded to the requests to preserve the security camera evidence, your company may have been able to avoid becoming further entangled in these matters as a potential party to any resulting proceedings. Depending on whether or not the video and other evidence has been destroyed thus far, your company may still be able to extricate itself. However, Mr. Neiroozi has advised that although the video tape evidence existed when my clients contacted him it would be quickly destroyed unless he immediately received a court subpoena. If true, these would be outrageous aggravating circumstances.

I suggest you refer this letter to your counsel. Early and positive communication with me may be in your company’s better interests than what appears to be its decision to become involved in what appears to be Church of Scientology obstruction of justice. In that regard I suggest you Google Web and Google Groups the search phrase, Church of Scientology and obstruction of justice.

Very truly yours,

Graham E. Berry

Bccs: per attached list.

GRAHAM E. BERRY

ATTORNEY & COUNSELOR AT LAW

3384 McLAUGHLIN AVENUE

LOS ANGELES, CA 90066

Telephone and Facsimile: (310) 745-3771

Email: grahamberry@ca.rr.com

August 1, 2008

By First Class Mail, Email & Fax

The President and Chief Operating Officer,

Subway Restaurant Headquarters,

325 Bic Drive,

Milford, CT 06461-3059

Fax (203) 783-7893

Email: franchise@subway.com and hr@subway.com and comments@subway.com

The President and Chief Operating Officer,

CG Investments, Inc. DBA Subway

435 North Beverly Drive,

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Fax (310) 858-8153

Email: info@subwaycgi.com

The Manager,

Subway Store #24202, Kaiser on Sunset

4700 West Sunset Boulevard,

Los Angeles, CA 90027

Fax: (323) 666-2804

Re: Violations of Federal criminal and civil rights statutes, July 12, 2008 et seq.

Gentlemen:

I have not received the courtesy of any response to my letter dated July 23, 2008.

I gave your company the opportunity of turning this outrageous incident into a public relations win for your company and its franchisees. Among other things, it could have delivered foot long apology sandwiches to those participating in the upcoming August 16, 2008 global protests against Scientology tyranny and terrorism, abuses, crimes and frauds. Instead, it has fired a foot bullet!

Your company appears to have sided with the Church of Scientology and its legal team. In that regard, there is an old saying: “If you lie down with snakes you may get bitten.”

Accordingly, I am also turning the matter over to Anonymous and the Internets.

Very truly yours,

Graham E. Berry

Links:

Latest Scientology News @Xenu.net

IMHO
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Tom Cruise is named in a $250 million federal lawsuit that is using the RICO statute against the Church of Scientology.

Ex-Scientologist Peter Letterese, a longtime critic of the church, filed suit in Southern District Court in Florida on July 15 alleging, among other things, that members of the church harassed him after he left.

In court papers provided to The News by investigator Paul Barresi, Letterese claims a member of the church phoned his lawyer at home, and when the lawyer’s wife answered, said he was her husband’s homosexual lover.
[…]

Letterese calls the church a “crime syndicate” and wants it broken up under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization law, just as the feds have broken up Mafia families.

He singles out Cruise, who’s made no secret of his religion, saying that Scientology head David Miscavage is “aided and abetted by the actions of Tom Cruise, his right-hand man for foreign and domestic promotion, as well as for foreign and domestic lobbying. He has assisted the syndicate in acquiring funds and [made] his own donations of money believed to be in the multiple tens of millions of dollars.”

One of Letterese’s beefs is that the church allegedly uses a business book, “Effective Sales Closing Techniques,” as part of its teachings. He says this violates his intellectual property rights, since he bought the rights to the book from the widow of author Leslie Dane.

- Rush & Molloy, New York Daily News, July 31, 2008

Link:

Tom Cruise Named in $250M Suit Against Scientology @FoxNews.com

Scientology’s Hate and Harassment Practices @ ApologeticsIndex.org

IMHO
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Factnet’s mission is to be the largest online news and referral service as well as research archive for defending freedom of thought and mind from all forms of unethical influence tactics, mind control and mental coercion/torture used in destructive cults and fundamentalist groups. Since 1993 millions have been helped. FACTNet is a tax deductible, IRS Approved 501(c)(3) non profit organization. For breaking news, personal stories, recovery information, support groups, and expert referrals relating to our mission please visit our web site at http://www.factnet.org If you would like to view over 350,000 postings on various cults, comment on this editorial/opinion/news or to share your personal experiences, go to one of our many various message boards at http://www.factnet.org/vbforum
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The five men, all members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, appeared before Justice of the Peace James Doyle Tuesday on charges related to sexual assaults of minors.

The men turned themselves into authorities Monday, a week after being indicted.

Doyle ordered the men to avoid their victims, stay in Texas and notify law enforcement before leaving Schleicher County while they await trial. Lloyd H. Barlow, a physician charged with three misdemeanors, posted a $15,000 bail and was released after spending one night in jail.

The other four men, who face first-degree felony charges, remain jailed because they have not yet posted $100,000 bonds set for each charge by 51st District Judge Barbara Walther.

A Schleicher County grand jury on July 22 indicted six FLDS members, including jailed sect leader Warren S. Jeffs, on sexual assault and related charges.
-Brooke Adams, The Salt Lake Tribune, July 30, 2008

Polygamist group tries to raise bail for 4 charged with sexual assault…

AUSTIN – The spokesman for a West Texas polygamist sect said the group is trying to pull together half a million dollars in bail money for four men charged with sexual assaulting young girls. For now, Willie Jessop said, the members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints remain in jail.
[…]

Sect prophet Warren Jeffs, who is incarcerated in Arizona, was also charged with sexual assault; he could be extradited to stand trial in Texas.
[…]

Last week, Mr. Jeffs and four other men – Merril Leroy Jessop, 33; Raymond Jessop, 36; Michael Emack, 57; and Allan Keate, 56, – were charged with first-degree felony sexual assault of a child, a crime punishable by five years to life in prison. The younger Mr. Jessop is also charged with first-degree felony bigamy, which means one of his alleged wives is younger than 16. Dr. Lloyd Barlow, a 38-year-old physician whose indictment indicates he delivered the babies of underage mothers on the Yearning for Zion ranch, was charged with three misdemeanor counts of failing to report child abuse.

Raymond Jessop, Mr. Emack and Mr. Keate all had their bond set at $100,000. Merril Leroy Jessop’s bond is $200,000 because he faces two felony charges.

Any of the men who post bail will be required to refrain from contacting their alleged victims, turn over their passports and remain within the state.
-Emily Ramshaw, The Dallas Morning News, July 30, 2008

IMHO
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Young people tend to be the first to fall for Scientology and are therefore much courted by the group’s scouts across the nation. This is where a new, 25-minute film by the Matthias Film company comes in. It shows interviews with Scientology leaders, former members who have turned their backs on the organization and representatives of state authorities.

The film aims to inform young people about the objectives and policies of Scientology, which does not have the status of a religious organization in Germany. It is under the surveillance of intelligence officers, because Scientology leaders are believed to work against the country’s free democratic order. Currently, the sect has between 5,000 and 6,000 members in Germany.

But according to the film company’s press spokesman, Thomas Krueger, the film is not meant to be yet another piece of straightforward anti-Scientology propaganda.

“It allows viewers to just listen to the statements and assertions made, compare them, and then draw their own conclusions,” he said, adding that the exclusive material for the film has been collected in the United States, Austria and Germany.

Better safe than sorry…

The film production has been supported by the Protestant church in the southern German state of Bavaria.

“The film comes at a crucial time when Scientology activists are stepping up efforts to lure young people into the organization,” said Protestant Bishop Johannes Friedrich, who is responsible for Bavaria. “Everyone has a right to know what Scientology is after and stands for before dealing with the organization’s campaigners.”

The film is primarily meant to be distributed to schools. Friedrich speaks of a very modern film production with swift cuts and impressive sound that may make previous films on Scientology look awkward.

“I hope that the film can go a long way towards enlightenment by showing honest portraits of protagonists from both sides of the fence,” he said.

German public television to follow suit…

Germany’s regional SWR public television network has also discovered the need for a film on Scientology.

Its fiction movie, which is currently in production, will tell the story of a Scientology member who is desperately trying to leave the sect behind. But his drop-out plans prove a tall order as sect leaders won’t let him off the hook and ratchet up the psychological pressure on him.

SWR hasn’t set a date yet when the film will first air on German television. But it’s already secured itself a prime-time slot straight after the evening news. The network’s production is billed as the first German feature film that deals with Scientology in a critical fashion.

In the German media, the organization was much highlighted again recently when it opened a large new office in Berlin amid vociferous protests from municipal authorities, nearby schools and residents living in the vicinity. -Hardy Graupner, Deutsche Welle, Germany, July 30, 2008

IMHO
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The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) seeks paper and panel proposals for its 2009 Annual International Conference which is being organized in collaboration with Info-Cult/Info-Secte of Montreal, Canada.
The conference will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, July 2 through July 4, 2009.
ICSA has been running conferences annually for more than 20 years.
The conference will be bilingual (English-French), so proposals may be sent in either or both languages (some presentations may be given twice, once in each language).
Attendees and speakers at ICSA conferences are diverse, including academicians, helping professionals, former and current group members, families, clergy, educators, and others.
Individual presenters may have up to 45-minutes for paper delivery and discussion. Panel organizers have 90 minutes. It is recommended that no more than four people speak on a panel.
Papers and panel proposals will be considered in all areas of cultic studies, including religious fanaticism as it may manifest in terrorism.
If you are not familiar with ICSA conferences, we suggest that you go here for lists of topics and presenters from current and previous conferences. If the hyperlink does not work for you, copy and paste the following into your browser: http://www.icsahome.com/idx_events.conferences_archive.asp
ICSA is not able to offer financial assistance to speakers, although we do give speakers a discount in the registration fee.
Panel organizers, send the following:

1. Panel title
2. Participants’ names, e-mail addresses, affiliations
3. Paper titles
4. Audiovisual needs
5. An abstract of 300-1000 words for each paper.

Individual presenters, send the following:

1. Your name, e-mail address, affiliation
2. Paper title
3. Audiovisual needs
4. An abstract of 300-1000 words.

Deadline: September 30, 2008
Send to ICSA’s Executive Director, Dr. Michael Langone, at the address or e-mail below.
ICSA
P.O. Box 2265
Bonita Springs, FL 34133, USA
Phone: 239-514-3081
Fax: 305-393-8193
E-mail: mail@icsamail.com

IMHO
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Factnet’s mission is to be the largest online news and referral service as well as research archive for defending freedom of thought and mind from all forms of unethical influence tactics, mind control and mental coercion/torture used in destructive cults and fundamentalist groups. Since 1993 millions have been helped. FACTNet is a tax deductible, IRS Approved 501(c)(3) non profit organization. For breaking news, personal stories, recovery information, support groups, and expert referrals relating to our mission please visit our web site at http://www.factnet.org If you would like to view over 350,000 postings on various cults, comment on this editorial/opinion/news or to share your personal experiences, go to one of our many various message boards at http://www.factnet.org/vbforum
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by Ursula Caberta-Head of Working Group Scientology, Office for Domestic Affairs, Hamburg

Supreme State Juvenile Welfare Authority Hamburg – for the protection of children and young persons in neo-religious, ideological communities and psychogroups

The children of this world…

Reports about real-life stories of children are attracting a great deal of attention. Anyone who harms children not only attracts criticism, but is frequently shunned and ostracised. Everyone feels regularly called upon to voice their opinion in the defence of children. Manipulating children, using them for purposes that they are unable to understand, subjecting them to physical abuse quite justifiably leads to political discussions as well. We then repeatedly hear of intentions to take greater measures in protecting children against all kinds of assault.
However, it should be mentioned that not enough attention is paid whenever the behaviour of parents and therefore the children or young persons is inconspicuous as perceived by our society.

Children who grow up in parallel worlds, in so-called sects or psychogroups, do not generally come to our attention. This also applies to the parallel world of Scientology. Parents and children appear to function, they look tidy, they are friendly and perhaps only conspicuous in that they live in seclusion. Every time a person who has already reached adulthood – and in such cases it is generally an adult – manages to break away from the organisation, it emerges that the requirements set out in the writings of the founder, L. Ron Hubbard, always apply to the children as well. It then becomes known that the children helplessly born into the system did not and do not have a chance. The children display none of the usual symptoms that cause public uproar: they do not have any visible, external signs of physical abuse, no bruises, no fractured ribs. Perhaps the eyes might reveal their plight, but who wants to take such a close look?

So where is the problem – why are we not aware of the distress experienced by these children? The mentally programmed parents, and therefore the employees functioning within the organisation, behave in a way that appears, on the outside, to be in conformity with the system. They cannot help doing so, as they have internalised L. Ron Hubbard’s ideology. As they have completed course after course, they have become part of the system. From a particular moment onwards they no longer ask questions, they merely function in all respects, including with regard to their own children.

In the Scientology organisation an ideologically closed model of thought and action is conveyed. This also includes the thesis that there are no children in this thought construct:

“(…) A child is not a special kind of animal that is distinct from human beings. A child is a man or a woman who has not yet reached her or his full size. Any law that applies to the behaviour of men and women also applies to children“ (L. Ron Hubbard, Child Dianetics, Copenhagen 1983).

This is reflected in the education within the Scientology system. The child has to function appropriately, so he or she has to be familiarised with Hubbard’s teachings as soon as possible. Like the adults, the child has to learn that everything outside his world, a world that carries the name of Scientology, is bad, along the lines of: anything that is not for us is against us and either has to be made to think like us or has to be fought. That is what the parents have internalised and the ideas with which the children grow up.

The effects of the kind of brain training practised by the Scientology organisation are difficult for outsiders to appreciate and above all to recognise as a problem or a danger in adults, let alone children, who have no chance of escaping the training, which teaches them to be a cog within the Scientology system.

The sentence penned by the founder that all laws that apply to adults also apply to children needs to be understood in the same way. It means that even the youngest are exposed to various processes. These extend from so-called communication training to so-called auditing and security checks, which are used to monitor strict toeing of the line. But all this also applies to the offspring of Scientologists. Also and in particular the interrogation rituals using the Hubbard E-meter (a kind of primitive lie detector) instil respect and possibly fear even in adults, according to all known reports. How then can a child deal with this? A child that is not even able to turn to its parents if it is afraid, if it is unsure? After all, the maxim is: you are responsible for what happens, whatever your age!

If we create a parallel world where children are brought up to function in that world, it is also logical that this world has an “educational system” that fits in with those ideas. Consequently the Scientology organisation tries to set up its own schools in areas where it is active, schools in which the younger generation can be educated unhindered, based on the methods of Scientology. It will be clear to everyone that these teaching institutes are not comparable to normal schools. The organisation has not yet managed to open a private school in the Federal Republic of Germany. So they have sidestepped the problem and gone to a neighbouring country, Denmark, instead. All-day schools and a boarding school, just beyond the German border, are responsible for looking after the new generation. The extent of the problem becomes evident when parents and their children leave the organisation. The children have problems when they attend a normal school. It is not just the learned and internalised special language that causes problems when talking to other students, the curriculum is also new. So not only do these children experience the problems of breaking away from the Scientology system, they also encounter the problem of integrating in the previously rejected outside world – a problem that should not be underestimated. It is therefore not surprising that many of them probably ask to be taken back, back to the system that has led them on the so-called bridge to freedom to a system characterised by a lack of freedom of thought and action.

What are the consequences? The consequences are that these children growing up are unable to get their heads around the civil rights that apply in free and constitutional democracies, and worse, they even classify these civil rights as hostile. This is because “the prevalent drill at Scientology, Scientology’s image of people, which is concerned with breeding a kind of “superhuman” race, the destructive attitude to the family, which means that children are neglected, rejected or even aborted, can only lead to one conclusion: the children’s rights to life, to natural development and to growing up in a proper environment, to education, are disregarded completely.
The Scientological idea of human beings therefore contradicts the basic values of our society in several points. (…) An organisation that, when all is said and done, wants to train and develop a new dominant clique, is no longer in keeping with our free and democratic constitutional system.” (Quoted from: Kurt-Helmuth Eimuth: Die Sektenkinder [The Sect Children], Freiburg 1996)

This formulation for the Federal Republic of Germany applies to all free and constitutional, democratic states. That is why we are at long last taking serious note of these parallel developments throughout Europe and are finally starting to take European action to help the children in Scientology, as well as other children in many destructive cults. Providing information about what is happening with children is an important part of this, but faster state intervention – even with regard to parental rights – must be made possible. It is not only the children who have clearly endured physical torture who are entitled to protection – those tortured by mental training must now, finally, be seen for what they really are: children who need protection, who need help.

So let us start to inform people and to bring our influence to bear on politics and the society in our countries, so that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child can apply to all children, as the Convention states that children should be prepared to live an individual life in society and be brought up in the spirit of the ideals proclaimed in the Charter of the United Nations, in particular in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity. For the children who grow up in the Scientology organisation or other destructive cults, let us demand that the signatory states to the Convention on the Rights of the Child do what they have pledged to do, in other words to take all suitable legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect children against any kind of physical or psychological use of force.

Let us not tire in our efforts until we have achieved this goal – until it has been implemented throughout Europe.

Thank you very much for your attention.

IMHO
FACTNet

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