Scientology raid uncovers dossiers on local "enemies": sexual habits, health info, political opinions

A raid yesterday on the Scientology office in Turin, Italy uncovered dossiers containing the personal information of local "enemies" of the church, including magistrates, cops, journalists and families of former members.

La Stampa said magistrates were now examining these documents which were "chock full" of sensitive information dealing with sexual habits, health and political inclinations.
In 2000, the Italian supreme Court of Cassation recognised Scientology as a religion but said it was organised as a business and thus subject to taxation.
Member are said to pay high fees for counseling or 'auditing' to advance through the religion's various 'levels'.
Scientology has been at the center of controversy because of its nature as a sect, which has led to accusations of fraud, and many countries do not qualify it as a religion.

Turin police raid Scientology chapter (via Running Scared)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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donniebnyc

Religion my butt!

Now can we get this evil cult investigated??
Nadreck

Nothing new here:

1960′s – Scientologists put the life of Paulette Cooper, an author who wrote The Scandal of Scientology, under a microscope via platoons of sleazy private eyes and spies. Amongst other things they use planted “friends” to get her fingerprints on a blank sheet of paper which they then type a criminal threat onto and send off to the government. Ms. Cooper spends the next few decades in court because of this and other merry pranks. (Sentencing memorandum in U.S.A vs. Jane Kember, District Court, DC, criminal case #78-401, p. 23). Scientology says that it was just a few bad apples and nothing to do with them.
1970′s – Scientologists working for Hubbard’s wife break down the office door of Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Harold Tyler so that they can steal and photocopy his files on them. Many, many other law enforcement and tax officials get the same treatment. (Stipulation of Evidence, U.S.A. vs. Mary Sue Hubbard et al., District Court, DC, criminal case #78-401). Scientology says that it was just a few bad apples and nothing to do with them.
1980′s – Three busloads of cops raid the Toronto Scientology headquarters. The warrant runs to 158 pages and describes thefts of documents from a hospital, a newspaper and the Ontario Government. During the trial, which eventually convicted the organisation as a whole under our version of the US racketeering laws, it turned out that the Scientologists had a spy in the provincial police trying to find out who the undercover policewoman was who was working on them. (See every Toronto newspaper for years after the raid and during the trial.) Scientology says that it was just a few bad apples and nothing to do with them.
and so on and so on ad infinitum, ad nauseum. I’m sure this latest debacle is only the work of a few bad apples and is not a reflection on the whole organisation. Just like the kiddie sex scandals have been the work of a few bad apples in the R.C. Church for the last few centuries.
Of course this only deals with their “information wants to be free and we’ll use crowbars on your front door to get it” behaviour and not a dozen other kinds of evil that these few bad apples have gotten into in the last 70 years. Still what could be sinister about a religion that is embraced by Hollywood?!
- teapot
  
  Thanks for the ammunition.
  
  I just wish these clowns would stop ruining the good name of science! Can’t they just piss off and re-brand as the ‘Church of Homeopathology’ already?
dw_funk

sorry, I haven’t gotten into the article at all. I thought it was “Turing police raid Scientology chapter,” and I got really worried about the rogue L. Ron AI loose in the network.

And frankly, I’d much rather live in that world.
Xenu

Blackmailing one’s enemies turns out to be the true way to get closer to god.
Forteto

When your reiligion costs money….

its a cult….
- niten
  
  Hehe, does that make every (Christian) religion a cult? Or is ‘tithing’ different somehow?
  
  I’m gonna go with cult.
Anonymous

This isn’t because Scientology is a “sect” or a “cult.” It’s about several thousand years of law and tradition that say that if you charge a fixed price for the provision of religious sacraments or services, you’re not a religion, you’re a for-profit business. Scientologist leaders want to be immune to, exempt from, those laws. And they are demonstrably willing to use blackmail to get those exemptions, and have repeatedly done so.
- Nadreck
  
  You’ll get in some hot water with that definition as Judaism generally charges for fixed price admission tickets and seasonal passes.
Anonymous

Still not as creepy as Facebook.
- Anonymous
  
  What? They found some boxes of printouts from Facebook?
erroneus

We’re gonna sue you! (jk)
Anonymous

This isn’t the first time they’ve been caught in shenanigans by their own documentation. Is it really that difficult to practice information security?
guernican

Genoan police raid a building full of peaceful protestors and put one in a coma and several dozen in hospital.

Turin police raid a Scientology office and we don’t get a single broken bone?

Truly, there’s no justice.
insatiableatheist

It sure does. All religions should be taxed. And shouldn’t be exempt from false advertising laws either.