Prosecutor urges court to evict Church of Scientology from Paris Associated Press February 22, 2002

PARIS (AP) -- A prosecutor on Friday urged a Paris court to disband the Church of Scientology in the French capital, where the organization is on trial for attempted fraud and false advertising in its efforts to recruit and keep its members.

State Prosecutor Christine Forey also requested a minimum 300,000-euro fine (dlrs 261,000) against the Church of Scientology, which has 20,000 members in Paris. The organization claims a membership of 40,000 in France.

The two-day trial that started Thursday stems from complaints by former Paris-based Scientologists who said they were bombarded with publicity materials in the mail from the group after announcing their wish to end their memberships.

In closing arguments, Forey called the Church of Scientology "an essentially commercial enterprise," which offered members "the illusory promise of revival" in their lives.

"I ask you to consider dissolution," Forey said.

While France has long had a contentious relationship with the Church, the trial marked the first time the organization itself was being taken to court. Several of the group's leaders in France have faced separate legal battles.

Forey also requested a 12,000-euro (dlrs 10,400) fine and a 12-month suspended prison sentence for Marc Walter, the 61-year-old president of the Ile de France section that includes Paris.

A verdict was expected on May 17.

Civil parties to the government's case, including the National Union of Associations for the Defense of Families and Individuals, support the call for the Paris branch to be dissolved.

Church of Scientology members have likened the trial to a witch hunt and say their faith is a religion like any other.

"This is a setup -- the government is trying to destroy a religion," said Marc Bromberg, a Church of Scientology official. "We are in an environment in France that's against religion and spirituality."

The Church of Scientology has sought recognition as a religion in Europe, but many Europeans are skeptical. In France, it figures on a list of nearly 200 groups to be tracked to prevent cult activities.

France has been increasingly inhospitable to groups that it calls sects.

Last year it adopted a law that increases the country's judicial arsenal against sects as part of a larger crackdown.

The law was a response to sects such as the Order of the Solar Temple, a group that lost 58 members in mass suicides in Switzerland and Canada between 1994 and 1997.

The Church of Scientology, which counts actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its members, was founded in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. It teaches that technology can expand the mind and help solve problems.

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