Une Cour supérieure russe maintient l'interdiction des livres scientologues pour extrémisme

Moskow, march 21 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20120321/172303524.html

Résumé

Un tribunal régional de Moscou a confirmé la décision prise en juin dernier par le tribunal inférieur de Shchyolkovo (région de Moscou) d'interdire des livres de L. Ron Hubbard (le fondateur de la Scientologie) pour des motifs d'incitations à l'extrémisme.

Les cours régionales russes ont soutenu et rejeté des décisions contre les livres de Hubbard depuis 2010.

Les livres de Ron Hubbard sur la scientologie “tendent à créer un groupe social isolé dont les membres sont entraînés à remplir leur fonction contre le reste du monde”, a déclaré la Cour dans son arrêt.

«Aucun autre pays (excepté la Russie) enquête au sujet de l'extrémisme dans la littérature religieuse» ont déclaré les représentants de la Scientologie.

La Scientologie en France est reconnue comme une secte totalitaire et a été condamnée pour escroquerie en bande organisée et l'Allemagne a classé la Scientologie comme étant une organisation anti-constitutionnelle.

La commission du gouvernement des États-Unis sur la liberté religieuse (USCIRF) dans son rapport annuel de 2012 a mis la Russie sur une liste de pays qui ont besoin d'une "surveillance étroite" pour des raisons, entre-autres, de ses actions contre la Scientologie.

Ce mercredi un tribunal de Tomsk en Sibérie a rejeté l'appel du procureur pour classer comme extrémiste une traduction en russe de la Bhagavad Gita As It Is, un commentaire sur un livre de la philosophie indoue, mettant fin à une longue bataille juridique.

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Russian Court Upholds Ban on Scientology Books

Moskow, march 21 (RIA Novosti)

http://en.ria.ru/crime/20120321/172303524.html

A Moscow regional court upheld a lower court’s ruling to ban books on Scientology by the group's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, on grounds of inciting extremism, the tvrain internet channel said on Wednesday.

Scientology, founded by Hubbard in the U.S. in the early 1950s, is one of the most controversial religious movements of the past century and is often described as a cult. A court in Shchyolkovo in Moscow region first banned Hubbard’s books last June.

Hubbard’s books on Scientology «seek to form an isolated social group whose members are trained to perform their functions generally aimed against the rest of the world», the court said in its ruling.

Russian regional courts have upheld and dismissed rulings against Hubbard’s books since 2010.

«No other country [but Russia] looks for extremism in religious literature», Scientology supporters have said.

Scientology is treated with caution in many countries. France has recognized it as a totalitarian sect and the Church of Scientology in France has been fined for making its members spend exorbitant sums of money on tests and vitamins. Germany has branded Scientology as unconstitutional.

The group has a strong following in Hollywood and its adherents include actors John Travolta and Tom Cruise.

The U.S. government commission on religious freedom (USCIRF) put Russia on a watch list of countries requiring «close monitoring» in its 2012 annual report on Tuesday, for reasons including its actions against Scientology.

Earlier on Wednesday, a court in Tomsk, Siberia, turned down a prosecutor's appeal to classify as extremist a Russian translation of Bhagavad Gita As It Is, a commentary on a Hindu philosophy book, ending a long legal battle over the text.

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Hubbard ban: Scientology books officially extremist in Russia (again)

If next time celebrity Scientologist Tom Cruise comes to Moscow for a premiere he gives someone one of his religious texts, he will be spreading extremism. At least according to the Moscow Regional Court.

­ The court upheld a district court decision from last year to recognize Scientology literature as extremist.

The court ruling states that Scientology texts “foster the creation of an isolated social group, whose members are taught to precisely carry out commands, many of which are aimed at confronting the outside world.”

An expert opinion accepted by the judges also accused Scientology of spreading hate speech towards specific social groups. This may be a reference to Scientology classifying certain individuals – whose crime is sometimes no more than doubting the veracity of this religion – as incurably evil “Suppressive Persons”.

The literature considered by the court is a selection of books and leaflets by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, who founded scientology in the 1950s.

A decade in court

This marks another chapter in the long-running battle between Scientologists and the Russian legal system.

Dating from 1996, various regional Russian courts have refused to recognize Scientology as an established religion, accused it of being a money-extorting cult, or branded its books extremist.

Scientologists have always fought back vigorously, winning a decision at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in 2009, which fined Russia 20,000 euro for repeatedly failing to register a Scientology cell in the Siberian city of Surgut as a religious organization.

As recently as March 19, a court in the Russian region of Tatarstan dismissed a very similar extremist literature case passed on from a lower court, after a Scientologist appeal.

Religion or sect ?

There are estimated to be around 100,000 practicing Scientologists in Russia.

While Scientology’s core belief in the concept of “thetan” – an individual soul created from the universe’s life force – may seem benign, other aspects of Scientology have alarmed observers.

Members have been accused of swindling new recruits by forcing them to pay greater sums for receiving “exclusive” Hubbard teachings as they move up the church hierarchy. Scientologists are also encouraged to restrict contact with family members who refute their religion, while those who have tried to expose Scientology are harassed through legal and other means.

German authorities unsuccessfully tried to ban Scientology in 2007, while French parliamentarians have branded it a “sect.” In Russia, current legislation makes a unified verdict on Scientology unlikely.

Russie: interdiction des livres de Ron Hubbard et texte contesté de la secte «Hare Krishna»

http://www.20minutes.fr/... - 28.12.11

[Texte intégral]

Un tribunal russe a rejeté ce mardi une action intentée par des procureurs pour faire interdire la Bhagavad-Gita, l'un des principaux textes sacrés de l'hindouisme, en l'inscrivant sur une liste d'ouvrages bannis à l'instar du "Mein Kampf" d'Adolf Hitler. La Russie espère que cette décision dissipera le tollé de protestations provoqué en Inde par les accusations émises par des procureurs de Tomsk, en Sibérie, contre une traduction de la Bhagavad-Gita jugée hostile à d'autres confessions.

Traduction en 1984

Des élus indiens ayant obligé leur parlement à ajourner ses travaux la semaine dernière en exigeant que soient protégés les droits des hindouistes, le chef de la diplomatie indienne avait condamné des poursuites en justice qu'il estimait "de toute évidence absurdes" et soulevé la question auprès de la Russie.

Cherchant à prévenir un incident diplomatique, le ministère russe des Affaires étrangères a souligné que les procureurs n'avaient pas dénoncé le livre sacré en tant que tel mais une préface controversée écrite en 1968 par un fondateur du mouvement Hare Krishna, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, et intitulée (La Bhagavad-Gita) "Telle qu'elle est". Le livre a été traduit du sanskrit en russe en 1984.

Délit passible de sanction

"Je répète que ce n'est pas le livre lui-même qui est en cause, mais sa traduction malheureuse et la préface rédigée par cet auteur", souligne sur le site internet du ministère son porte-parole Alexandre Loukachevitch.

La liste des ouvrages interdits en Russie s'est allongée pour dépasser le millier de textes. On y trouve notamment des écrits publiés par les Témoins de Jehovah, des livres du fondateur de la Scientologie, Ron L. Hubbard, et du théologien islamique turc Saïd Nursi. Une fois un texte interdit, sa possession devient un délit passible de sanction.

— Avec Reuters

Moscow police search scientology church

Moscow , Interfax -http://www.interfax-religion.com/... - 6 October 2011

[Texte intégral]

Moscow police have been searching the Church of Scientology on Taganskaya Street since Thursday morning, a law enforcement source has told Interfax.

The search could be part of a criminal investigation by the Moscow region's Investigative Committee into the distribution of scientology literature of the extremist nature, the source said.

No official confirmation of this report has been immediately available.

Scientology is an applied religious philosophy founded by American Ron Hubbard.

In late June, the Prosecutor General's Office declared several of Hubbard's books extremist.

Earlier, the Prosecutor's Office of the town of Schyolkovo near Moscow petitioned the city court to ban extremist materials by scientology's founder. The court upheld the plea.

Once the ruling comes into force, the banned literature is automatically included into the list of extremist materials barred from distribution in Russia.

In May, scientologists claimed that the Justice Ministry had excluded Hubbard's books from the "black list."

La Scientologie à Moscou de la rue Taganskaya a été fouillée par la police ce jeudi matin

Moscow , Interfax - 6 October 2011

[Texte intégral]

Cette descente de police fait suite à une enquête criminelle du Procureur de la région de Moscou pour distribution de littérature extrémistes, a précisé la source.

À la fin de Juin, le Bureau du Procureur général avait fait interdire une série de livres de Ron Hubbard pour propos extrémistes.

Le Bureau du Procureur de la ville de Schyolkovo près de Moscou a demandé l'interdiction de ces livres et le tribunal a confirmé cette décision.

Une fois la décision entrée en vigueur, les livres de Ron Hubbard ont été automatiquement inclus dans la liste des documents extrémistes interdits de distribution en Russie.

En mai, les scientologues ont prétendu que le ministère de la Justice avait exclu les livres de Hubbard de la liste "noire."

Moscow Police Raid New Scientology Centre on Taganskaya Street

Video: Moscow Police Raid New Scientology Centre on Taganskaya Street

Source: http://www.ntv.ru/novosti/241333/

A dramatic video report of the police raid can be seen on the website of Russia's NTV network. The report calls the org a "Scientology school" and shows police breaking down doors.

The reporter wanders around the org finding shelves of literature and high-tech equipment and looking at the papers on desk tops.

Moscow police search scientology church (Taganskaya Street) Rough translation by Bozuri, the whole thing Source: http://forums.whyweprotest.net/... Starting from 00:31 minute: In that bus behind us we can see OMON [Russian Police special forces, or SWAT team]. [The raid is seen] Reporter: Nobody is to be found in the semi -dark rooms. For now this is the only detained person - a female secretary. It's morning, eight [and something]. It is possible that the staff of the school is yet to arrive at work. The computers are on, however the working stations are empty. In this building there is a large number of corridors and offices, different doors. But in practise.... this one is storage and this one is a utility room.... are locked. The policemen will have to break all the doors. Reporter: This is the only office which does not have any doors or locks. This is the office of Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology. Obviously he was never here, this place is more like a museum. All his works are collected here, part of which are on the list of extremist material, forbidden in the territory of Russia. Voice of a different reporter: The price for the collection of study materials and lectures is 169 thousand rubal; computer video-course is much more - almost 400 thousand rubals; Reporter: So these books are on the list of prohibited books, right ? Voice over: Nine in the morning. At the entrance, colleagues are arriving however they are still not understanding what's happening. The girl says to the male: We would like to voluntarily surrender to you what you're interested in. Reporter's voice: This is Maria, who presented herself as the director. Hence we asked her the questions. Reporter: did you know that this book is on the list ? Maria: this book is not on the list. If you'll show me the list where this book is listed..... I dont' know about it. Reporter: And here is the deputy of the head accountant. Somehow he lost the number of his supervisor and cannot find it in his note book and later he completely forgot the supervisor's name. Reporter: So have you ever seen him in person ? Accountant assistant [AA]: Yes, I've seen him. Everyday. Reporter: And how are these [inaudible...]....here ? AA: Only here. Reporter: What's his name ? Cant hear the answer, the guy mumbles. Reporter: So what's the name of your director? Are you declining to answer ? AA: I don't know. Reporter: You don't know the name of your director ? AA: No, I don't know. Reporter's voice: With such prices for the books, it's no wonder that in this center all of the equipment is the most modern and the most expensive. For example, this cinema room: all the discs [DVDs] that are being sold at the reception can be seen in here for free. In these cabins there are rooms for relaxation. You can click on any video clip and it would start playing straight away. Here is the volume ... you can turn it up and down. Reporter: This is something like a small production [advertisement] room. It appears that in this room the publication materials of the Church were printed. There are interesting posters like this. Look....here are the last names of the best and the most successful students. They have fairly expensive equipment. The printer for example is for wide-format printing allowing for the printing gigantic posters. It appears that people in this room worked here in shifts. It is possible that colleagues never even met, because they were leaving each other notes like this one, in English language [4:25]. One colleague says to the other that this disc contains what you need. There are also notes like this in Russian. For example this one says "Dear Lena, posters need to be distributed throughout the entire Org. Cleaning as well". Reporter: What is Org is not clear and the note does not clarify. In fact, to call the visitors of this school "students" is not very correct. They should be called "pre-clears" while the teachers are "auditors". Scientology is called the most controversial [or conflicted the Russian word used] spiritual philosophy. The conflict, not hard to guess, is with the law. Many, including medical doctors consider that this literature ruins the human brain and traumatises the psyche. That is why several of the books are prohibited/illegal. To summarise in short - here, they teach people how to be happy. They even have an interesting technical equipment: e-meter. A devise for the measuring of the psychological weight. [Lady is speaking]: See, here are the cans. You hold them with your hands and here the cord is connected. Reporter: And the needle should show in what mood I am, right ? Lady: Technically, correct. In these moments the searches on Taganka are ongoing. Police operators, without help of any devises, promised to determine the weight of responsibility of the director of the centre, the secretary and everybody else. Artyon Kolodkin, NTV.