Russian court shuts down Scientology center in St. Petersburg: prosecutors

MOSCOW: A Russian court has ordered a center operated by the Scientology movement in St. Petersburg to be shut down, city prosecutors said Thursday, after accusing the organization of unlicensed teaching and other activities.

The St. Petersburg City Court ordered the Scientology center closed after it agreed with prosecutors who said the center’s operations were violating its charter.

“The center was engaging in ‘auditing’ and ‘purification’ activities,” prosecutors said in a statement. “Such practices were advertised by the organization as healthcare services. However, the organization did not hold a license for this.”

The center also perform tests on people who came to the center — tests that were aimed at enrolling new members, prosecutors said.

Scientology officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Los Angeles-based movement — which calls itself the Church of Scientology — was founded in 1954 by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard and teaches that technology can expand the mind and help solve problems.

It, however, has struggled for acceptance in many European countries. The German government views it as a threat to democracy, and France lists Scientology among groups that should be closely monitored for cult activities.

The organization operated in Moscow legally from 1994-97, when a change in the law required all religious groups to get reregistered. Scientology officials have said they have tried to re-register repeatedly since then but have been either ignored or refused.

In April, Europe’s human rights court ruled that Moscow city authorities infringed on the group’s rights of by repeatedly refusing to register it.

Read Another Article

Court says LDS Church must release long-veiled financial information
Arizona slaps Warren Jeffs with new felony charges

Related News Articles Topic(s): Scientology Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Scientology Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog