Copyright 2003 British Broadcasting Corporation BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union - Political Supplied by BBC Worldwide Monitoring

September 17, 2003, Wednesday

Activities of Scientologists arouse concern in Russia

SOURCE: Interfax news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1215 gmt 17 Sep 03

Text of report by Russian news agency Interfax

Moscow, 17 September: Russian psychiatrists are concerned about Scientologists' activities in Russia.

Scientology is officially banned in Russia, Tatyana Dmitriyeva, director of the Serbskiy Centre for Social and Criminal Psychiatry, said at a conference on prison psychiatry in Moscow on Wednesday 17 September .

"However, Scientologists continue to work in this country in the guise of human rights organizations in order to cover the large sums put into Scientology," Dmitriyeva said.

She said one of the Scientologists' postulates has to do with psychiatry. "They believe that psychiatrists must not be allowed to treat people, as everything must be left to the will of God,"

she said.

She announced that Scientologists regularly hold protest actions in front of the Serbskiy centre and plan to hold another picket on Wednesday.

"Their main slogan is 'Psychiatrists, hands off humans!' They are also urging the government to stop financing psychiatry,"

Dmitriyeva said.

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