‘Abusive’ Scientology faces Australian senate inquiry

The Church of Scientology could be the subject of a Senate inquiry in Australia after a senator tabled letters from former members of the cult containing serious allegations, including coerced abortions and physical violence.

Senator Nick Xenophon had previously publicly questioned the tax-exempt status of Scientology, which is considered a religion in Australia. But in a speech to the Senate yesterday, he revealed that his campaign had inspired former Scientologists to write to him about the abuses they had suffered as members of the church.

"These victims of Scientology claim it is an abusive, manipulative, violent and criminal organisation, and that criminality is condoned at the highest levels," said Xenophon. "What we are seeing is a worldwide pattern of abuse and criminality."

Allegations contained in the letters, which Xenophon has forwarded to police, include false imprisonment, coerced abortions, embezzlement of church funds, physical violence, intimidation, blackmail and the widespread and deliberate abuse of information obtained by the organisation.

The letters allege that information about suspicious deaths and child abuse was destroyed, with one man claiming he perjured himself to police to protect the church after the death of his daughter. He said she died after ingesting potassium chloride, a substance used by Scientologists as part of a 'purification' programme.

Women were allegedly pressured into having abortions so that they could continue to work for the church. If they refused to do so they faced demotion and hard labour, in the hope - alleges one former member who was born into the cult - that they would "give in and have an abortion or miscarry".

The new allegations come at a particularly troubling period for Scientology, which has suffered regular media exposure in the United States concerning abuses supposedly perpetrated by the organisation on its members. In France, where it is officially defined as a cult, the church was recently fined £533,000 for defrauding its members and narrowly avoided being banned.

"Scientology is not a religious organisation, it is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs," said Xenophon in his speech yesterday. He called for Scientology to be scrutinised by parliament "because Australian taxpayers are, in effect, supporting Scientology through its tax-exempt status".

The vice-president of the Church of Scientology in Australia, Cyrus Brooks, hit back at Xenophon today, saying his speech, which enjoyed parliamentary protection from libel laws, was an "outrageous abuse of parliamentary privilege".

He said he had tried to contact the senator about the allegations, but had been ignored. "We would co-operate with police in any of these matters," he added, but said the former Scientology members are "as reliable as former spouses are when talking about their ex-partner".

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, meanwhile, said that he shared Xenophon's concerns about the church, but that he wanted to see the evidence before committing to a parliamentary inquiry. "Many people in Australia have real concerns about Scientology," he told reporters. ·