FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 11-SEP-2005
Yesterday the National Coalition of Human Rights Activists held a press conference in Santa Barbara, California, to award the Scientology Corporation the first annual NCHRA Human Rights Counter-Achievement Award ("The Herka"). The Herka was voted on by NCHRA membership on August 30th and the winner was announced on September 10th.
"NCHRA membership examined ten private United States businesses and organizations that have the worse reputation for human rights abuses, and voted on fifteen criteria regarding the worse offender for each criterion," said the NCHRA media liaison for California, Dr. Jessica Wells. "The result was a surprise for some members but not for others" Dr. Wells added.
The ten businesses and organizations included the Mafia, four White Supremacist groups, one Black Supremacist group, three churches, and the Scientology corporation. United States Governmental agencies were not examined, though the NCHRA recognizes the systemic human rights abuses within the USA government.
The criteria voted upon included the right to life; the right to liberty; the right to security; the right to freedom from servitude; the right to redress of grievances; the right to property; the right of freedom of movement; the right to free expression of opinions; the right of religious faith; the right to religion expression; the right to be free from coercion and compulsion; the right of safe working conditions; the right to unionize; the recognition of child protections; and the right to sunder personal associations.
"When tallied, the Scientology corporation, based upon testimony, court documents, depositions, and declarations by victims [0], was the clear leader in human rights violations" said Dr. Wells. "The Mafia came in a close second over-all" she added.
Some of the human rights violations that the Scientology corporation excelled at included violations of the right to life and the right to property.
"An uncommonly high number of Scientology customers have died due in whole or in part to Scientology" said Dr. Wells [1]. "A much greater number of Scientology customers have been defrauded of a very great deal of money," Dr. Wells added.
Ms. Wells also noted that Scientology customers are required by the Scientology business to renounce all religious beliefs, religious practices, and religious affiliations when they join the Scientology Sea Organization; the Sea Org is the paramilitary department within the Scientology business that runs the organization.
Scientology customers who become Sea Org staff members may be coerced into mandatory abortion of pregnancies; their children may be taken from them and placed in what the business calls the "Cadet Org" where parents may only see them as little as fifteen minutes a day. Several victims have testified under oath that the conditions children of Sea Org staff face are hazardous and debilitating to mental, emotional, and physical health.
"It is yet another stain upon American idealism to see such abuse occur unchecked upon her shores" noted NCHRA president David Rice. "The USA court judges have found, as a matter of law, that the Scientology business is criminal and corrupt, and yet USA law enforcement does noting at all to correct the business' criminal and abusive behavior."
Judge Breckenridge, of the Los Angeles Superior Court, said Scientology "is nothing in reality but a vast enterprise to extract the maximum amount of money from its adepts by pseudo scientific theories." The judge then added "In addition to violating and abusing its own members' civil rights, the organization over the years with its 'fair game' doctrine has harassed and abused those persons not in the church [sic] whom it perceives as enemies." [2]
The US District Court, Southern District of New York, 92 Civ. 3024 (PKL), found that "Scientology's purpose is making money by means legitimate and illegitimate." [3]
Judge A. Wallace Tashima said "Convictions, seized [internal Scientology] documents, and defectors affidavits [and declarations] demonstrate that Scientologists have already indulged in burglary, kidnapping, false imprisonment, espionage, blackmail, and conspiracies to steal government documents and to obstruct justice." [4]
Other countries have also discovered as a matter of law that the Scientology corporation is criminal and corrupt.
"Scientology is evil; its techniques are evil; its practice is a serious threat to the community, medically, morally, and socially; and its adherents are sadly deluded and often mentally ill... [it is] the world's largest organization of unqualified persons engaged in the practice of dangerous techniques which masquerade as mental therapy." found Justice Anderson, of the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia. [5]
Justice Latey, ruling in the High Court of London, said "Scientology is both immoral and socially obnoxious... It is corrupt sinister and dangerous. It is corrupt because it is based on lies and deceit and has its real objective money and power for Mr. Hubbard... It is sinister because it indulges in infamous practices both to its adherents who do not toe the line unquestionably and to those who criticize it or oppose it. It is dangerous because it is out to capture people and to indoctrinate and brainwash them so they become the unquestioning captives and tools of the cult, withdrawn from ordinary thought, living, and relationships with others." [6]
The NCHRA will be holding an awards ceremony Monday in Santa Barbara California to present the award to the Scientology corporation. So far the Scientology business has declined to send a representative to accept the award.
[0] http://holysmoke.org/cos/docs/index.htm
[1] http://whyaretheydead.net
[2] http://www.planetkc.com/sloth/sci/breck.html
[3] http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Fishman/time-dismissal.html
[4] http://www.xenu.net/archive/CourtFiles/occf8.html
[5] http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/anderson/ar01.html
[6] http://www.lermanet.com/cos/justicelatey.htm
