Raelian Cult Leader Threatens to Sue Korea Over Denied Entry

The Korea Times, Aug. 3, 2003
http://times.hankooki.com/
By Soh Ji-young, Staff Reporter

An international cult leader was denied entry to the country on Saturday for his beliefs in human cloning, immigration officials said.

Claude Vorilhon, also known as Rael, was forced to leave South Korea after being detained for nine hours at Incheon International Airport.

The French founder of the Raelian Movement arrived at the airport at around 2:17 a.m. from Toronto, Canada, with his wife, but was prohibited from entering the country by immigration authorities. The Raelian Movement is a religious group that believes aliens landed on Earth 25,000 years ago and started the human race through cloning.

Rael’s entry ban was enforced at the request of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which feared the leader would promote human cloning activities during his stay. Rael is also the founder of Clonaid, a company which claims it has produced the first human clones.

During an interview with Yonhap News Agency, the cult leader accused the government of treating him “like a North Korean,” and said he will sue the South Korean government and the ministry for violating his human rights.

Saying he currently has no connections with Clonaid, Rael said he cannot understand the move as he has visited South Korea on more than 10 occasions. Rael added he will not return until the South Korean government apologizes for the incident.

To protest its leader’s denial of entry, the Raelian Movement said it will mobilize its more than 60,000 global followers to hold protests at Korean embassies around the world. The movement’s Korean chapter said it will stage protests in front of the Health-Welfare Ministry.

Between now and his departure on August 18, the 56-year-old cult leader was scheduled to give a news conference and a public lecture about human cloning. He was also due to take part in a seminar with about 700 Raelian followers. There are approximately 4,000 Raelians in South Korea.

A former journalist and racecar driver, Rael founded the Raelian Movement in 1973 and Clonaid in 1997.

Read Another Article

Waldorf-style school stirs controversy
Focus: Muti – The Story of Adam

Related News Articles Topic(s): Raelians 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 Raelians 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