The Court's Ruling

Here is a summary of the verdict and sentences in the Paris trial of Scientology. I have laid it out in the same style I used for What the P...

37 ...defending the Celebrity Centre

June 17: The Celebrity Centre should not be convicted on the basis of prejudice and preconceptions against Scientology, lawyer Patrick Maiso...

36 ...defending the bookshop

June 17: SEL, France's network of Scientology bookshops, is the victim of a modern witch hunt in which the trappings of the movement...

35 ...for the defendant Rosenberg

June 17: Alain Rosenberg, 40 years devoted to Scientology, should not be convicted because out of thousands of happy Scientologists, three p...

34 ...for the defendant Michaux

June 16: Dedicated Scientologist Didier Michaux has been tried in an atmosphere tainted by media hysteria and soured by a prosecution summin...

33 ...for the defendant Valli

June 16: Devoted Scientologist Jean-François Valli risks being convicted for his beliefs because the government has left the job of dealing ...

32 ...for the defendant Jacquart

June 16: Sabine Jacquart is a scapegoat in a symbolic trial against Scientology, said her lawyer, citing a host of distinguished legal autho...

31 ...for the defendant Fabre

June 16: Aline Fabre’s accusers decided she was guilty simply because she was a Scientologist: but they have not built a proper case against...

30 ...for the defendant Pasturel

June 16: Marie-Anne Pasturel, accused of the illegal practice of pharmacy, is a victim of France’s obsession with prosecuting ‘cults’ and it...

29 ...for the Prosecution II

June 15: The second half of the prosecution’s closing arguments focussed on the evidence of fraud – both on the part of the individual defen...

28 ...for the Prosecution I

June 15: The prosecutors’ closing arguments created a sensation at the trial: they called for the dissolution of the two organisations charg...

27 ...for the remaining Plaintiffs

June 15: Unscrupulous organisations can gain a psychological hold on people, argued the lawyer for the plaintiffs -- and Scientology is a pa...

26 ...for the Pharmacists

June 15: The medicinal claims made for Scientology’s Purification Rundown – and the high doses of vitamins used – amount to the illegal prac...