They face 10 years in jail. Ten days ago the prosecution discovered that 3d tons of evidence against the defendants had been shredded. France's Justice Minister Elisabeth Guigou ruled that court officials destroyed the vital papers, audio cassettes and videos by accident and ordered the hearings to go ahead. The judge threw out a claim by Xavier Delamare, leading Scientologist in Southern France, that there could not be a fair trial because of the suspicion over the missing evidence. The sect has long been under fire for illegally practising medicine.
All members are free to join or leave as they wish.
It is untrue that they are subject to any moral pressure. But two former members, Jean-Jacques Greneron and Raymond Scapilleto, will tell the court they were victims of fraudulent practices over the sale of cures and therapy. The sect, founded by science fiction writer Ron Hubbard in 1954, claims eight million members on whom it imposes iron discipline and demands unquestioning loyalty. Scientology President Heber C. Jentzsch said in Los Angeles he would complain to the UN Human Rights Commission that government religious intolerance in France threatens the right of minority religious members to a fair trial. The sect accuses opponents of a slander campaign but this is the third time vital documents in a Scientology case have disappeared.