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The Dark Side of Scientology
March 31, 1998

This speech was delivered by attorney Graham Berry at a public meeting in the hall of the Hamburg Union Building on March 30,1998, and broadcast uninterrupted by Phoenix Television, Hamburg, Germany.

TRANSCRIPT:

(German translation portions omitted)

Graham E. Berry:

Ladies and Gentleman, it is an honor to be invited here by Ursula Caberta, a woman working hard and courageously for "religious" freedom, in a nation that has unique memories of the terrible practices of totalitarian movements. However, I disagree with her on one point. She said that Scientology is represented on the light side by celebrities. I believe that they also represent the dark side of Scientology: insecure struggling young actors and actresses being lured with false promises of enlightenment and success.

Although it is correct that I have worked on a large number of cases, I am not going to talk to you about those cases, I am sure that would put you all to sleep, but I am more than happy to take questions on specific cases after I have finished my remarks.

Although Scientology mistakenly and misleadingly calls itself a "church", it is not an organization that is about "religious" freedom. Most real "religion"s freely and enthusiastically reveal their beliefs. Scientology charges many hundreds and thousands of deutschmarks to go up the "Bridge" to learn about their beliefs; to go up the "Bridge" to total servitude and not freedom. And Scientology claims a monopoly upon its so-called ""scripture"s." That is not "religious" freedom. If it was, Martin Luther would not have freely distributed the Bible and there would have been no reformation and no Protestant "church".

Scientology fraudulently claims that it is compatible with other "religion"s such as Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity; that it is possible to practice other "religion"s and Scientology at the same time. Only after Scientology has enslaved your mind, through those techniques he wrote about in his "Manual on Brainwashing", and was referring to when he stated that he could, "Brainwash people faster than the Russians," does a Scientologist learn the truth of what Mr. Hubbard claimed: that he had, "... been to heaven twice," that, "... there was no man on the cross," and that, "Christ did not exist." What is also not widely known about Mr. Hubbard is that he was a follower of one of the 20th Century's leading practitioners of Black Magic, Alistair Crowley, truly a man of the dark side. A man Mr. Hubbard referred to as his "very good friend." And what is also not widely known is that the Scientology cross is based upon Mr. Crowley's Satanic cross.

Scientology has attacked the German people and has misused misguided celebrities, such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise, to convince the United States government, and others, that Germany is depriving Scientologists of their human rights. This is totally wrong. It is an example of what Scientology itself refers to as "Crim-mind" or "the criminal mind." In Scientology, "Crim-mind" means to accuse others of what you are guilty of yourself. It is clear that Scientology deprives its own members of their own civil rights and human rights. It is also clear that Scientology seeks to eliminate and exterminate the human rights of its critics. Indeed, Mr. Hubbard wrote that critics, who are "1.1" on his human Tone Scale, should be imprisoned and then exterminated. He estimated that was about 2-½% of the population.

In the United States, judges have written of Scientology as being a paranoiac organization that has assumed the paranoia of its founder Mr. Hubbard. It is unmistakably a totalitarian organization as Ms. Caberta just told you. This country [Germany] has dedicated itself to never forget the past lest it be repeated. Unfortunately, those in Washington seem to have forgotten the past and may, unfortunately, repeat it. Scientology has undertaken a massive lobbying effort in Washington that extends from lobbyists to congressmen, senators and even the President himself. Scientology has used its celebrities to spearhead this lobbying effort, and that was written about, only this week, by the St. Petersburg Times in a major article. In another major newspaper article, the New York Times has described how Scientology used private investigators to intimidate the head of the IRS into giving it tax-free status, and that was after the United States Supreme Court had declared that the IRS's position [in denying Scientology tax-free status] was correct. It is an example of what I am about to talk about.

There has been a mountain of material written by Scientology and about Scientology, but I believe that you can reduce Scientology to three fundamental concepts: Power, Purge and Punish.

First, power. "Clear the planet" so that it is governed according to Scientology teachings and principles, and to create an "ethical society"- which to a Scientologist means to eliminate all opposition to Scientology. "A society without crime" says Scientology, which to Scientology means a society without critics of Scientology.

In his "Targets Defense", Mr. Hubbard wrote that Scientology should take over the heads of government, the heads of media and the heads of business, and secure their allegiance to Scientology, and we have seen that in Germany, and elsewhere, with the W.I.S.E. corporations, the corporations of the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises. Ms.Caberta can tell you more about "The Albania Project" of Scientology, the expansion of Scientology into Eastern Europe and even, as was reported yesterday, as far as the new Prime Minister of the Russian Republic. A man who was running a Russian bank while taking Scientology courses. Putting a Scientology member in charge of a Russian bank is like putting Al Capone in charge of a bank in America! And we have seen Scientology expanding into Eastern Europe through A.B.L.E., the Association For Better Living, and Applied Scholastics, which is part of A.B.L.E. So through this business arm, W.I.S.E., and through this so-called educational arm, A.B.L.E. and Applied Scholastics, Scientology expands its power and objective of world domination.

Scientology has even done this in Los Angeles California. In California, surprisingly, there is a shortage of school textbooks and Scientology has decided it can satisfy the shortage. It is trying to convince the Los Angeles School District to buy school textbooks from Applied Scholastics. It says that these books, which are part of Mr. Hubbard's "Study Tech", are published by a secular organization with no direct links to the "Church", and that therefore, there is no violation of the separation of "church" and state. But even Scientology itself, in its application for tax-exempt status, explains that although Applied Scholastics is a secular corporation, it is responsible for the dissemination of Scientology publications and teachings, and that through the dissemination of Scientology publications, people will be recruited into the "Church", and will pay money to go up its "Bridge." That "Bridge" so many find is to total servitude, mentally and physically.

CNN, the news corporation, decided to expose the Applied Scholastics misrepresentation that it was not part of the "church" hierarchy. However, one of CNN's legal commentators, Greta Van Susteran, is a Scientologist. She went to work to convince CNN that they would be subjecting themselves to defamation liability if they published this major exposé on Scientology, and Scientology executives and investigators went to work on the senior management of CNN to convince them that should not publish this major exposé on Scientology.

CNN teams had spent many months talking to people about Scientology. Some of these people being former Scientologists who had never publicly spoken out about Scientology. In doing so, they put their lives at great risk, because Scientology would react through private investigators to disturb and destroy their personal and business relationships. And so they were betrayed and put at great risk when Scientology operatives managed to convince CNN to cancel this exposé, which I have described. So even through Applied Scholastics and A.B.L.E. in America, Scientology seeks to convince young people that they should "clear" words and "route" into Scientology under the pretense that Scientology has a superior education system.

But the truth is that Applied Scholastics and A.B.L.E. are one of the ten sectors of Scientology that are represented on its "Watchdog Committee," the committee that governs Scientology. The Watchdog Committee includes the Office of Special Affairs of which I shall soon speak, and W.I.S.E. - the commercial arm of the "Church" funneling many millions of dollars into the "Church" every month.

Although Scientology claims to have eight million adherents, the same as the Mormon "Church", the real truth is that Scientology is much smaller. A friend of mine, Mr. Vaughn Young, a former senior Scientologist, told me how they came up with the membership figure. One day a reporter called Mr. Young who was then a public relations representative of the "Church" and asked, "How many are you?" Mr. Young plucked the figure one million out of the air, and because Scientology must always be seen to be expanding, it has risen gradually over the years until it is now eight million.

So where does all of the money come from, in Scientology, when the real figure appears to only be about fifty thousand active followers at any one time? It comes from W.I.S.E. and it comes form the sort of financial frauds that Time Magazine described and that resulted in the case that I litigated; where there were allegations of stock market fraud and credit card fraud, and also what Time Magazine reported was fraud involving gold mining companies in Nevada and the Vancouver Stock Exchange. It is in the area of commercial activity that I expect the next Scientology litigation to take place. It has already started with the Digital Lightwave litigation in America and it will extend into other Scientology influenced companies such as Earthlink, the Internet Service Provider that was founded by Scientologists.

So with reference to this first concept, "power," there is no doubt in my mind that Scientology is a totalitarian political movement determined to "clear the planet" of all non-Scientologists and to rule the world.

The second concept is "purge." This is the Scientology determination to remove all critical or negative documents and information from public accessibility. It is accurately reflected by Scientology's Operation or Project Snow White. As a result of the Snow White Project, Scientology conducted the most extensive known infiltration of the United States government. Scientologists broke into and burglarized dozens of government departments in the United States. They removed or copied the government's records regarding the activities of the "Church" of Scientology. Eventually, it resulted in the two largest raids in FBI history and the conviction of nine senior "Church" of Scientology executives including Ron Hubbard's wife, Mary Sue Hubbard. Although Scientology claims that that is past history, and that it has removed those responsible, that is also a Scientology lie. The Guardian's Office, which was responsible for the criminal infiltration of the United States Government, was Department 20 on the Scientology Organization Board. All Scientology did was rename the Guardian's Office the "Office of Special Affairs", or OSA. Many of the old Guardian's Office personnel continue to work for Scientology and the "Hat Pack", or job description of the President of the "Church" of Scientology, Heber Jentzsch, contains many of the old Guardian's Office orders not even reprinted on OSA letterhead. In 1991, the Scientology Intelligence Officer's job description also included many of the old Guardian's Office orders, such as how to break and enter buildings and engage in other criminal conduct. Former Scientologists have also testified as to how they removed court documents and public library books upon the orders of their Scientology superiors. They call this "culling" - removing negative or "entheta" material from the public record and Scientology always tries to seal court records so that the public cannot review their contents. That was what Operation Snow White was all about in 1977, when the "Church" of Scientology was raided by the FBI and that is what the "Church" of Scientology is about today because Operation Snow White still continues today.

The third concept of which I spoke, "punish", is the darkest of all sides of Scientology. It takes two forms, an internal form and an external form. First, internal dissent.

Scientologists are not permitted to criticize their own organization and can face terrible consequences for doing so. Scientologists are taught to spy upon one another and to report critical comments by one another in "Knowledge Reports" or "KRs." Husbands and wives turn each other in, as do parents and children. "Sec Checks" or "Security Checks" are conducted with the E-Meter, a primitive form of lie detector; a cheap device that is sometimes sold for as much as $27,000, but that fraud is another story. The E-meter is used for security checking; the interrogation of Scientologists, and where two Scientologists conduct a "Security Check," it is called a "gang bang sec check." As a result of the information learned, a Scientologist may be required to do "Lower Conditions." "Lower Conditions" are forms of punishment; and the worst of the "Lower Conditions" is the "Rehabilitation Project Force" or "RPF". The "RPF" is described by former Scientologists as a "Gulag" or concentration camp; and these concentration camps or "Gulags" exist in America today.

Only a month ago I was in Hemet, California,. I was accompanying a handful of demonstrators who were picketing "The [Scientology] Base" and headquarters of the "RPF." The true face of Scientology was personified. A tall wire fence topped with barbed wire. There were cameras focused on the inside and out, obviously to keep people in and to keep people out. There was a young man in uniform, a Tom Cruise look-alike. It was a brown uniform with black jackboots, a diagonal belt across his chest and guns on his belt. He was standing beside the barbed wire fence. That is the face of Scientology and the "RPF" that Scientology hides form the public and even its own celebrities who speak for it.

A former Scientologist, Andre Tabayoyan, has written in court documents about this "Base" in Hemet being "armed and dangerous;" and others have described how they have been subjected to incarceration and human rights deprivations at that place. For example, Vicki Aznaran, the former head of the "Religious" Technology Center, was "deposed" by David Miscavige and sent to the RPF at Hemet for three months; And for three months she spent twelve hours a day running around a pole; one hour one way and one hour the other, and was guarded at night so she could not escape. Escape she eventually did. This is an example of what I mean when I say that Scientology is engaged in the denial of human rights; the denial of human rights of its own people. So it is a cruel irony for Scientology to accuse Germany of being engaged in the denial of Scientologists' human rights.

Scientology is also engaged in the denial of human life. For example, an ex-Scientologist, Mary Tabayoyan has testified as to how she and other Scientologists were ordered to have abortions; and I have argued before a court that that constitutes instructions to commit murder. At the very least, it denies a woman freedom of choice with regard to abortion. And why does Scientology do this? Because children require "Family Time" and "Family Time" interferes with production; the production of things that produce money. Mr. Hubbard writes in his book "The Second Dynamic" about children being expensive and inconvenient, because Mr. Hubbard requires his most loyal adherents, his Sea Organization members, to sign contracts to serve Scientology for one billion years.

Children are also taught to "disconnect" from their non-Scientology parents and to "disconnect" from people who do not agree with Scientology's objectives. This is an issue that is becoming more frequent in divorces involving Scientologists and ex-Scientologists. The idea that a Scientologist should not have joint custody of a child because the Scientologist, and the "religion", will teach the child to "disconnect" from the non-Scientology parent.

Let me now turn to the punishment of people outside of Scientology. Scientologists do this with "Fair Game." The "Fair Game" doctrine provides that any Scientologist may use any means to destroy a non-Scientologist. It is applied to opponents of Scientology who are called "Suppressive Persons" or "SPs." Scientology claims that it has cancelled "Fair Game" because it was "bad for public relations," but that is an example of what Scientology calls an "Acceptable Truth", which is "A statement tailored to meet the needs of a particular audience." It is a half-truth because it was not cancelled with regard to the handling of "Suppressives," which is what it was always intended for anyway.

"Fair Game" takes four principal forms: intelligence, investigation, intimidation and litigation. And all these things were written about by Mr. Hubbard and form part of Scientology's so-called sacred "religious" "scripture"s. They are all carried out by the Office of Special Affairs, which is responsible for eliminating external threats to Scientology.

First, intelligence; it involves the collection of information. Information about known critics of the "Church". A former head of the FBI in Los Angeles, Mr. Ted Gunderson, has described Scientology as having an intelligence operation rivaling that of many small nations. You might well ask why an organization, which describes itself as a nice, peaceful "church", requires a massive intelligence operation? It is because of the second aspect of "Fair Game," which is "investigation."

After the FBI raids, and the seizure of so much damaging documentation by the FBI, Scientology re-organized its intelligence gathering operations. Although it occasionally slips up, generally it now uses private investigators hired by "church" employed lawyers. The theory being that the "church" can hide behind what we in America call the "attorney-client privilege," and the lawyers can hide behind the "attorney work product privilege," to avoid giving information about those activities, but we have documents evidencing the "church" lawyers hiring private investigators, in my case, to investigate me.

There are several interesting aspects to these investigations. Scientology employs what it calls "Black Propaganda" to disseminate lies and defamation about its critics. Mr. Hubbard writes the more "lurid" the lies, the more "sexual" the lies the better. These lies are put into documents Scientology calls "Dead Agent Packs." I have the unique distinction of having two "Dead Agent Packs" written about me. These "Dead Agent Packs" are distributed to the friends, families, neighbours and business associates of Scientology's critics; and the families, friends and business associates of former Scientologists who dare to speak out about their experiences in the cult. That is one reason why so few former Scientologists are willing to speak out and be counted, because after many years of working long hours for $50 per week, sleeping in "Berthing" or group housing, and receiving inadequate diets, they have finally escaped to a life of freedom. And having got out of the organization, and having built a home and job, they know how easily Scientology can use "Noisy Investigations", "Black Propaganda" and "Dead Agent Packs" to destroy their new lives. Mr. Hubbard writes about "Noisy Investigations" and how they should be conducted. "The louder the better," he says.

"Noisy Investigations" blend into intimidation, the third aspect of "Fair Game." Recently, we have seen intimidation taking the form of Scientologists distributing leaflets summarizing "Dead Agent Packs" around the neighborhoods of critics. Intimidation also involves the use of private investigators, such as Scientology's chief private investigator Eugene Ingram, to interview neighbours, friends and business associates of critics. These "interviews" don't involve soliciting information. They involve asking impertinent questions that, in effect, defame a person with lies and scandalous allegations. It is the mere asking of a question that can cause the damage; such as asking what the person knows about Ms. Caberta being involved in the assassination of John Kennedy. The person will say "nothing," but is left to wonder if Ms. Caberta was involved. It reflects what Mr. Hubbard said, "If you criticize us we will more than even the score." And "evening the score" involves the loss of jobs, relationships and friends and so the truth is suppressed.

The fourth element of "Fair Game" is litigation, which is where I have been most involved. In his "Manual of Justice" Mr. Hubbard writes, "The purpose of the lawsuit is not to win but to harass." And he also writes, "Enough harassment of someone who is on the thin edge anyway is usually sufficient to cause his professional demise. If possible, ruin him utterly," and he continues by saying, "Make it rough, the rougher the better." And so the Scientology litigation juggernaut, with armies of lawyers, conducts litigation blitzkriegs and wars of attrition. Mr. Hubbard also writes that Scientology should sue in America because in America, as a general rule, the loser does not pay [the other sides expenses] as in Europe.

And the cost of Scientology litigation in America can be astronomical. In my experience it ranges from $750,000 to $7 million to litigate a Scientology case. The Time Magazine case reportedly cost Time $7 million and it did not even go to trial. Scientology recently raided the homes of a group of its critics and seized their computers. An action which resembled the "burning of the books." One of those cases, the "Factnet" case, has already cost $3 million dollars and it does not go to trial until next year. The Fishman-Geertz case, which involved allegations of Scientology related financial fraud, instructions to commit murder and instructions to commit suicide, cost nearly $2 million.

"Fair Game" is even applied to opposing lawyers in litigation and lawyers who deal with Scientology litigation have to deal with other policies written by Mr. Hubbard. For example, Mr. Hubbard wrote a document called "On Control and Lying." In that document he writes, "The only way to control people is to lie to them." Scientology has "Training Routines" or "TR's" and so there is a "TR-L" or "Training Routine - Lying." There are also documents called "Hatting the Witness" and "Addendum to Hatting the Witness" which teaches Scientology witnesses how to testify according to Scientology's requirements; and a Scientologist will be punished, perhaps with the RPF, if he testifies against another Scientologist or against the interests of Scientology. The harassment of lawyers who dare fight Scientology is so rough that the American Lawyer Magazine quoted one lawyer, of many, as saying that," Life is too short to litigate against the "Church"." And former "Church" of Scientology lawyer Joe Yanny was quoted in the 1991 Time Magazine article as saying that, " The "Church"'s litigation hands are so dirty that it should be denied equity in every court of law." Former Scientology leader Vicki Aznaran was quoted in the same article as saying, " This is a criminal organization day in and day out."

Scientology's harassment of opposing lawyers is so bad that there are less than a handful of lawyers in America today who will regularly take cases against the so-called "Church".

I am one of that handful of lawyers and I am grateful to Ms. Caberta for inviting me here today to talk about it. Thank you for your patience and time.

[Question and answer session omitted]

Copyright © 1998, by Graham E. Berry.

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