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More articles about: Hate Groups, Scientology:

More Church of Scientology defectors come forward with accounts of abuse


ReligionNewsBlog.com • Monday August 3, 2009

11 more defectors who have provided accounts of physical or mental abuse by Scientology leader David Miscavige.

They are stepping forward — from Dallas and Denver, Portland, Las Vegas, Montana — talking about what happened, to them and their friends, during their years in the Church of Scientology.

Jackie Wolff wept as she recalled the chaotic night she was ordered to stand at a microphone in the mess hall and confess her “crimes” in front of 300 fellow workers, many jeering and heckling her.

Scientology defector Jeff Hawkins talks about his motivation to come forward

Gary Morehead dredged up his recollection of Scientology leader David Miscavige punishing venerable church leaders by forcing them to live out of tents for days, wash with a garden hose and use an open latrine.

Steve Hall replayed his memory of a meeting when Miscavige grabbed the heads of two church executives and knocked them together. One came away with a bloody ear.

Mark Fisher remembered precisely what he told Miscavige after the punches stopped and Fisher touched his head, looked at his palm and saw blood.

These and other former Scientology staffers are talking now, inspired and emboldened by the raw revelations of four defectors from the church’s executive ranks who broke years of silence in stories published recently by the St. Petersburg Times.
[...]

- Source / Full Story: Strength in their numbers: More Church of Scientology defectors come forward with accounts of abuse, Joe Childs and Thomas C. Tobin, © Copyright St. Petersburg Times, Aug. 2, 2009 — Summarized by Religion News Blog

The St. Petersburg Times has listed brief bios of more former Scientology members who have come forward regarding abuses in Scientology.

Meanwhile a response by the Church of Scientology posted at the newspaper’s website is characteristically hypocritical: Church of Scientology’s response: ‘Character assassination’ by liars

Those words come from a ‘church’ whose founder codified character assassination and other unethical behavior in his writings — which are considered ‘scripture’ by the cult:
Dead Agenting
Fair Game

Scientologists acting on those words have created a Scientology track record of hate- and harassment activities — which is why Apologetics Index classifies the cult as a hate group.

See Also

The Truth Rundown, a St. Peterburg Times special multi-media report on the Church of Scientology
More about Scientology
Escape Scientology
Cult FAQ Frequently Asked Questions about cults
Need counseling? How to select a cult expert
Stop Scientology Abuses
Why We Protest

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