A French judge has ordered two branches of the Church of Scientology and seven of its leaders to stand trial for fraud, a judicial source said today.
The case is the latest in a series of legal battles that have pitted the French judicial system against the Scientologists, who are viewed by the authorities as a sect.
The latest suit centres on a complaint made in 1998 by a woman who said she was enrolled into the Church by a group of people she met outside a metro station.
In the following months, she said she paid 140,000 francs (€21,340) to the Scientologists in exchange for "purification packs" and books.
Judge Jean-Christophe Hullin ruled that the Scientologists' operational centres in France, its Celebrity Centre and its bookstore, along with seven Church leaders should be tried for "organised fraud" and "illegally practicing as pharmacists".
The Church of Scientology, which is registered as a religion in the United States, has denounced the case as "empty and concocted", adding that the woman who filed the complaint had been reimbursed.
The public prosecutor said the case should be shelved but in a relatively rare move, judge Hullin ignored his recommendation and instead ordered the trial, which is not expected to start for at least six months.
The Church of Scientology, which counts actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta among its members, was founded in 1954 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard.
It has battled in vain for recognition as a religion in France, but has expanded its operations in recent years despite fraud convictions for local officials in Lyon in 1997 and Marseille in 1999.
Reuters