http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8223.htm
The law also allows nonrecognized religious groups to seek official status as confessional communities without the fiscal and educational privileges available to recognized religions ... The nine religious groups that have constituted themselves as confessional communities according to the law are: Jehovah's Witnesses, the Baha'i Faith, the Baptists, the Evangelical Alliance, the Movement for Religious Renewal, the Pentecostalists, the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Coptic Orthodox Church, and the Hindu religious community. After initially filing for confessional community status, the Church of Scientology withdrew its application from consideration in 1998.
Sensitivity to Scientology in the country remained high. The Church of Scientology has reported problems obtaining credit cards, and individual Scientologists have experienced discrimination in hiring.
| Chris Owen - ronthewarhero@OISPAMNOyahoo.co.uk |
|---------------------------------------------------------------|
| THE TRUTH ABOUT L. RON HUBBARD AND THE UNITED STATES NAVY |
| http://www.ronthewarhero.org |
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8243.htm
On December 18, Parliament voted to override President Havel's veto and enacted the Law on the Freedom of Religious Belief and on the Status of Churches and Religious Societies. This law was modeled after the religious registration law in effect in Austria. It will impose a two-tiered registration system, lowering the membership requirement for the first tier (non-profit religious association with limited tax benefits) to 300, but raising the membership requirement for the second tier (full religious association with benefit of state funding and property rights) to approximately 20,000. The new law will also impose a 10-year observation period on all first-tier organizations wishing to obtain second-tier status. Under the old law, registered churches would automatically receive second-tier status. The new law has been criticized by some unregistered religious groups (including the Muslims and the Church of Scientology) and nongovernmental observers as prejudicial against minority religions.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Belgium
Date: 21 May 2002 15:02:40 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211402.38ed6ad9@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8227.htm
In February the Church of Scientology took legal action to force the return of documents seized in a 1999 police raid of church facilities and the homes and businesses of about 20 members. The Church of Scientology also filed a complaint asserting that the Prosecutor's Office provided prejudicial statements to the press in violation of the country's secrecy laws regarding investigations. A second, smaller raid on the Church of Scientology's Brussels headquarters took place on February 8 at which time additional documents were seized. Most of the seized computer equipment was returned to the Church, but the documents from both raids still were being held by the investigating magistrate at year's end. In March the Church filed a complaint against the Government with the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance. No arrests were made or charges filed against church members as a result of the original raid.
Some groups included in the parliamentary list of 189 sects continued to complain that their inclusion has resulted in discriminatory action against them. For example, in March Jehovah's Witnesses--not an officially recognized religion--received a letter from the Brussels Exhibition Center notifying them that they could not use its facilities for their April convention. The group had held its annual convention at the Exhibition Center since 1968. The rejection letter specifically mentioned the appearance of Jehovah's Witnesses on the parliamentary list of 189 sects as the reason for the refusal. In November a similar incident occurred when the Church of Scientology was informed on the morning of the scheduled day that it could not use the International Press Center to announce its suit against the Commission's dangerous sect list. A representative of the center reportedly cited the presence of the Church of Scientology on the commission's list as a reason for the cancellation. However, in a subsequent review of the refusal, the Center decided that in the future the Church of Scientology could use the facilities.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Denmark
Date: 21 May 2002 15:03:34 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211403.48b7b0b5@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8245.htm
Scientologists continued to seek official approval as a religious organization. Their first application for approval was made in the early 1980's and rejected; the second application was made in mid-1997 and withdrawn in early 1998. The second application was resubmitted in 1999 and withdrawn again in early 2000, shortly before a decision by the Government was expected. In withdrawing the application, the Church of Scientology asked the Ministry of Ecclesiastical Affairs for additional time to respond to reports about Scientology that had appeared in the media. The Scientologists had not resubmitted an application by year's end.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Finland
Date: 21 May 2002 15:04:13 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211404.72a68527@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8250.htm
In 1998 the Ministry of Education turned down the application of the Finnish Association of Scientologists to be registered as a religious community on the grounds that the association had failed to supply additional requested information on its fundraising efforts. This was the first time that an applicant had been denied church status. The Education Ministry's decision can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court; however, the Scientologists have not yet done so.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: France
Date: 21 May 2002 15:05:07 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211405.37dc632f@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8253.htm
The Government has encouraged public caution toward some minority religious groups that it may consider to be cults. In 1995 the National Assembly formed a parliamentary commission to study so-called cults, which issued a report in 1996 that identified 173 groups as cults, including Jehovah's Witnesses, the Theological Institute of Nimes (an evangelical Christian Bible college), and the Church of Scientology. The Government has not banned any of the groups on the list; however, members of some of the groups listed have alleged that there were instances of intolerance due to the ensuing publicity.
Some observers are concerned about the scrutiny with which tax authorities have examined the financial records of some religious groups. The Government does not recognize all branches of Jehovah's Witnesses or the Church of Scientology as qualifying religious associations for tax purposes and therefore subjects them to a 60 percent tax on all funds they receive.
In April the press reported that software produced by Panda International was authored by a Scientologist. Panda claimed that critical statements by government officials linking the product to Scientology caused a significant loss of business (see Section 5).
A number of court cases have been initiated against the Church of Scientology, generally by former members who have sued the Church for fraud and sometimes for the practice of medicine without a license, and some cases have been brought under the Data Privacy Act. In April the Church of Scientology was taken to court for fraud and false advertising in a lawsuit brought by three former members; the case remained pending at year's end. Scientologists continued to report instances of societal discrimination. Church of Scientology representatives reported that a case filed by a parent whose child attended an "Applied Scholastics"-based school remained ongoing. In March warrants in this case were executed, and the police entered Scientology offices and removed files.
In April the press reported that software produced by Panda International was created by a Scientologist. According to representatives of Panda Software, the Interior Ministry and others subsequently indicated that they would not renew their contracts with the company. Panda claimed that critical statements by government officials in press articles that linked the product to Scientology have caused a significant loss of business.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Germany
Date: 21 May 2002 15:06:02 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211406.b6bfeb6@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8259.htm
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, and the law and judiciary provide effective means of dealing with cases of individual abuse; however, there were a few problems. There were some limits on freedom of assembly and association. There was some discrimination against Scientologists ...
Several states, noting their responsibility to respond to citizens' requests for information about these groups, have published pamphlets detailing the ideology and practices of nonmainstream religions. While many of the pamphlets are factual and relatively unbiased, others may harm the reputations of some groups through innuendo and inclusion in a report covering known dangerous cults or movements. Scientology is the focus of many such pamphlets, some of which warn of the alleged dangers posed by Scientology to the political order and freemarket economic system and to the mental and financial well being of individuals. For example, the Hamburg OPC published "The Intelligence Service of the Scientology Organization," which claims that Scientology tried to infiltrate governments, offices, and companies, and that the church spies on its opponents, defames them, and "destroys" them.
In April the federal OPC concluded in its annual report for the year 2000 that its stated reasons for initiating observation of Scientology in 1997 remained valid. The section of the report covering Scientology described the organization's political ideology as antidemocratic, quoting from the writings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology pamphlets.
The Church of Scientology, which operates 18 churches and missions remained under scrutiny by both federal and state officials, who contend that its ideology is opposed to democracy. Since 1997 Scientology has been under observation by the Federal and State OPC's (see Section 1.f.). One state, Schleswig-Holstein, does not implement observation; state officials have concluded that Scientology does not have an actively aggressive attitude towards the Constitution--the condition required by the state's law to permit the OPC observation.
On December 12, the Berlin Regional Administrative Court held that the Berlin OPC could not employ undercover agents to continue the observation of Scientology's activities in the state of Berlin. The Court concluded that after 4 years of observation, the Berlin OPC had failed to uncover information that would justify the continued use of intrusive methods. Observation is not an investigation into criminal wrongdoing, and, to date, no criminal charges have been brought against the Church of Scientology by the Government.
Government authorities contend that Scientology is not a religion but an economic enterprise and therefore at times have sought to deregister Scientology organizations previously registered as nonprofit associations and require them to register as commercial enterprises. With the exception of the Church of Scientology in Baden-Wuerttemberg, no Scientology organization in the country has tax-exempt status.
Scientologists continued to report discrimination because of their beliefs. A number of state and local offices share information on individuals known to be Scientologists. Until March the Government required firms to sign a declaration (a "sect filter") in bidding on government contracts stating that neither the firm's management nor employees were Scientologists. The term sect filter is misleading because the declarations are Scientology specific and in practice do not refer to any other group; they could more accurately be described as "Scientology filters." Firms that failed to submit a sect filer declaration were presumed "unreliable" and excluded from consideration. In response to concerns expressed by foreign governments and multinational firms, in 2000 the Economics Ministry limited the scope of the sect filter to consulting and training contracts. In March the Economics Ministry persuaded the federal and state interior ministries to accept new wording that would only prohibit use of the "technology of L. Ron Hubbard" in executing government contracts. Firms owned or managed by or employing Scientologists could bid on these contracts. The private sector on occasion has required foreign firms that wish to do business in the country to declare any affiliation that they or their employees may have with Scientology. Private sector firms that screen for Scientology affiliations frequently cited OPC observation of Scientology as a justification for discrimination (see Section 5). The Federal Property Office has barred the sale of some real estate to Scientologists, noting that the federal Finance Ministry has urged that such sales be avoided, if possible.
Scientologists reported employment difficulties, and, in the state of Bavaria, applicants for state civil service positions must complete questionnaires detailing any relationship they may have with Scientology. Bavaria identified some state employees as Scientologists and has required them to complete the questionnaire. The questionnaire specifically states that the failure to complete the form will result in the employment application not being considered. Some of these employees have refused, and two filed suit in the local administrative court. Both cases have been decided, both in favor of the employees.
Others refused to complete the questionnaire, but chose to await rulings in the two mentioned cases. The Bavarian Interior Ministry commented that these were individual decisions, but withdrew the questionnaire for persons already employed with the State of Bavaria or the City of Munich; however, the questionnaire is still in use for persons seeking new state or municipal government employment. In one case, a person was not given civil service but only employee status (a distinction which involves important differences in levels of benefits); in another case, a person quit Scientology in order not to jeopardize his career. According to Bavarian and federal officials, no one in Bavaria lost a job or was denied employment solely because of association with Scientology; Scientology officials confirmed this fact.
In a well-publicized court case in January 1999, a higher social court in Rheinland-Pfalz ruled that a Scientologist was allowed to run her au pair agency, for which the State Labor Ministry had refused to renew her license in 1994 because of her membership in the Church of Scientology. The judge ruled that the question of a person's reliability hinges on the person and not their membership in the Church of Scientology. The ruling remained under appeal by the State Labor Office at year's end, and the au pair agency continued operations.
Scientologists continued to report instances of societal discrimination (see Section 2.c.). In October the management of a commercial racing track in Oschersleben informed the foreign subsidiary of the California Superbike School--a private firm--that it could not rent the track to conduct a training session; they stated that the denial was based on the grounds that the founder of the School was a Scientologist, and that Scientology was under OPC observation.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Greece
Date: 21 May 2002 15:07:00 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211407.59c60ab@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8261.htm
In February 2000, the Scientologists submitted an application for recognition as a known religion. Although the period mandated by law for processing the application is 3 months, the Ministry waited until October 2000 to decide that it would not recognize the Scientologist community as an "official" religion. In October 2000, the Ministry denied the Scientologists their application for recognition and a house of prayer permit on the grounds that Scientology "is not a religion." The Church of Scientology appealed the decision to the Council of State in December 2000, and the case was pending at year's end.
The Orthodox Church issued a list of practices and religious groups, including Jehovah's Witnesses, Evangelical Protestants, Scientologists, Mormons, Baha'is, and others, which it believes to be sacrilegious. Officials of the Orthodox Church have acknowledged that they refuse to enter into dialog with religious groups considered harmful to Greek Orthodox worshipers; church leaders instruct Orthodox Greeks to shun members of these faiths.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Hungary
Date: 21 May 2002 15:07:44 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211407.4e001442@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8264.htm
In 2000 the Hungarian Tax Authority (APEH) initiated investigations of the Church of Scientology, based on questions regarding the registration of its clergy. The investigations took place at the Church's office where APEH investigators requested files and conducted interviews. The investigations have not affected the usual management of the Church and have not required the expenditure of large amounts of Church funds. The APEH had not completed its investigation by year's end.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Portugal
Date: 21 May 2002 15:08:21 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211408.1afc6241@posting.google.com>
The Church of Scientology, although recognized as a religious association since 1986, does not benefit from the Religious Freedom Act, since it has not been established in the country for 30 years or recognized internationally for 60 years, as required under the law.
The Church's leaders claim that they suffer no discrimination or opposition in the country. However, they are concerned that exclusion from the benefits accorded under the Act will have a negative impact on their ability to practice their faith.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Russia
Date: 21 May 2002 15:09:15 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211409.7ac50a25@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8331.htm
The Church of Scientology has experienced problems in reregistering its organization in Moscow. In October the Moscow city court upheld a lower court ruling on the denial of reregistration to the church's local chapter, and the local department of the Ministry of Justice initiated liquidation proceedings against the chapter.
Reports of official harassment and punishment for religious belief or activity continued. Some religious minority denominations accuse the FSB, Procurator, and other official agencies, of increasing harassment of certain "nontraditional" denominations, in particular, Pentecostals, Scientologists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, and the Unification Church.
In December 2000, a Moscow court returned a case in which the Church of Scientology was accused of "criminal activities" to law enforcement authorities for further investigation because of irregularities by the procurator's office. In January the case resumed, but subsequently was dismissed for lack of evidence. The procurator appealed, but the appellate court upheld the lower court's ruling in May, clearing the Scientologists of all charges.
On April 20, activists in Rostov Velikiy picketed the proposed site for the construction of a Jehovah's Witnesses center, proclaiming their opposition to "totalitarian cults." In March the head of the local department of the Ministry of Justice and other local officials held a press conference at Nizhniy Novgorod's city hall in which they called for noncooperation with such groups as the Jehovah's Witnesses, the Moonies, and the Scientologists. From April 23 to 25, local Russian Orthodox Church officials held a conference in Nizhniy Novgorod, which was devoted to "Totalitarian Cults--Threat of the XXI Century," featured a number of presentations from both domestic and foreign "anticult" activists. In the materials that came out of the conference, groups such as Pentecostals, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Unification Church, and Scientology were included in the list of "cults," despite the fact that all have legal status.
On September 16, perpetrators hurled a Molotov cocktail into the Moscow headquarters of the Church of Scientology; the church had received bomb threats by telephone prior to the incident. By year's end, the police had arrested five suspects.
The ultranationalist and anti-Semitic Russian National Unity (RNE) paramilitary organization, formerly led by Aleksandr Barkashov, appears to have splintered and lost political influence in many regions since its peak in 1998. Although reliable figures on RNE membership were not available, the organization claimed tens of thousands of members in many regions in 2000. The RNE continued to be active in some regions, such as Voronezh, and RNE graffiti has appeared in a number of cities, including Krasnodar. In several regions such as Moscow and Kareliya Oblast, authorities have limited the activities of the RNE by not registering groups. Representatives of the Church of Scientology accuse RNE and other ultranationalist organizations of violence or threats of violence against their activities in a number of Russian cities, including Nizhniy Novgorod, Barnaul, and Yekaterinburg.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Slovakia
Date: 21 May 2002 15:10:01 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211410.808dfdb@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8338.htm
The police law regulates wiretapping and mail surveillance for the purposes of criminal investigation, which may be conducted on the order of a judge or prosecutor only in cases of extraordinarily serious premeditated crimes or crimes involving international treaty obligations ... There were reports that the Ministry of Interior actively monitored members of the Church of Scientology (see Section 2.c.).
The Government monitors, although it generally does not interfere with, religious "cults" and "sects." However, during the year the Government harassed the Church of Scientology and its members. The Ministry of Interior also actively monitored Scientologists. Several stories have appeared in the media critical of companies that have ties to Scientology, including reports that the Director of the SIS was concerned that a company with close ties to the church of Scientology had won a vote to provide the Government with a new computer system.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Spain
Date: 21 May 2002 15:10:36 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211410.4357c05f@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8343.htm
Religions not recognized officially, such as the Church of Scientology, are treated as cultural associations.
In December a Madrid court acquitted 15 Spanish citizens of charges of illicit association and tax evasion. The charges arose from a fraud complaint against Church of Scientology offices Dianetica and Narconon and the subsequent arrest of Scientology International President Heber Jentzsch and 71 others at a 1988 convention in Madrid. Scientology representatives asserted that the indictment against Jentzsch, who was not part of the trial, was religiously based, a claim denied by officials.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: Switzerland
Date: 21 May 2002 15:11:34 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211411.6b3e14ad@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8350.htm
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the Government generally respects this right in practice; however, some municipalities restrict the public distribution of pamphlets, particularly by Scientologists (see Section 2.c.).
In December 2000, the Federal Department of Police published a followup report to a 1999 report by the Business Review Commission of the National Assembly regarding the need for state involvement in controlling "sects." The December 2000 report concluded that the activities of sects, including Scientology, had not increased significantly and that special monitoring of sects therefore was not justified.
In 1998 the city of Basel passed a law banning aggressive tactics for handing out pamphlets. This action was prompted by complaints about Scientologists' methods. In June 1999, the Scientologists lost an attempt in the Supreme Court to overturn a municipal law that barred persons from being approached on the street by those using "deceptive or dishonest methods." The Court ruled that the 1998 Basel law, which was prompted by efforts to curb Scientology, involved an intervention in religious freedom but did not infringe on it.
The city of Buchs, St. Gallen, also passed a law modeled on the Basel law. However, it remains permissible in Buchs to proselytize in nonintrusive ways, such as public speaking on the street or by going door-to-door in neighborhoods.
In Zurich in 1995, Scientologists appealed a city decision that prohibited them from distributing flyers on public property. In 1999 a court held that the Scientologists' activities were commercial and not religious, and that the city should grant them and other commercial enterprises, such as fast food restaurants, more freedom to distribute pamphlets on a permit basis. Fearing a heavy administrative and enforcement workload, the city appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court rejected the appeal in June 2000, affirming the decision by the lower court that the Scientologists' activities were commercial in nature and thus should be permitted. The Supreme Court decision was expected to establish a nationwide legal guideline on the issue;
however, in June 2000, the Federal Council stated that there was no need for specific legislation on sects because the existing legislative framework was sufficient to preserve the population's best interests.
From: ronthewarhero@yahoo.co.uk (Chris Owen)
Subject: US State Department Human Rights Report 2001: United Kingdom
Date: 21 May 2002 15:12:09 -0700
Message-ID: <f758becc.0205211412.f07a3@posting.google.com>
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8364.htm
The Church of Scientology asserts that it faces discrimination because the Government does not treat Scientology as a religion. Ministers of Scientology are not regarded as ministers of religion under prison regulations or for immigration purposes. In 1999 the independent Charity Commission rejected a Church of Scientology application for charitable tax status accorded to most religious groups and concluded that it is not a religion for the purposes of charity law. The church had not appealed the decision by year's end.
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