Following French fraud conviction, Scientology under fire for tracking down defectors

November 9, 3:55 AMInternational LGBT Issues ExaminerKelvin Lynch

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David Miscavige, leader of the Church of Scientology

Photo: Reuters

On the heels of a conviction for fraud perpetrated by  two of its branches last week in France, along with a fine of $895,200,  defectors from the "Church" of Scientology now allege the group makes strenuous efforts to track down and bring back members who try to leave. France considers Scientology a cult, not a church

It is a known fact that the "Church" keeps potentially embarrassing information about its often wealthy members' personal lives on record to dissuade defection, and demands outrageous sums of money from members to keep the information secret.  

Former Scientology members told the Saint Petersburg Times of being pursued and detained, cut off from family and friends and subjected to months of interrogation, humiliation and manual labor.

Particularly damaging is the fact that these allegations come from former high-ranking Scientology officials who allegedly coordinated the intelligence gathering and supervised the retrieval of staff at the behest of the church's leader, David Miscavige.

According to the paper, two couples and a man who left in 1990 to set up a mortgage business in Las Vegas were infiltrated by a mole who would send reports on the group to the church's office of special affairs' (OSA) intelligence unit back in Hollywood.

The church's alleged interest in the group's activities had to do with two women, who were sisters. Terri and Janis Gillham were two of the original four "messengers" for L Ron Hubbard, the pulp sci-fi novelist who founded Scientology in 1952. As his messengers, they fetched people for private audiences and carried his handwritten notes.

The Times interviewed high-ranking defectors, including Mike Rinder, the former director of OSA, and Marty Rathbun, the former inspector general of the Religious Technology Centre, the church's top ecclesiastical authority. A Scientology spokesman "categorically denied" that Miscavige knew about or was involved in the pursuit of runaways or spying on former members.

Last week, one of Scientology's most high-profile members, Hollywood filmmaker Paul Haggis, quit the organisation in protest at its stance on same-sex marriages. In an explosive letter of resignation, Haggis claimed he could no longer "be a member of an organization where gay-bashing is tolerated"

Hubbard is the author the best-selling "Dianetics".  American devotees include Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Kirstie Alley. 

Beware of a Scientology Center's  "free psychological evaluation", because they usually lead to the purchase of expensive equipment and other high-priced evaluations and being talked into joining the cult.

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