Updated A French appeals court on Thursday upheld the Church of Scientology’s 2009 fraud conviction on charges it pressured members into paying large sums for questionable remedies.

The case centered on the complaints of several people who spent huge amounts of money for the cult’s ‘purification packs’ and other alleged ‘cures.’

The Church of Scientology has sued its longtime Clearwater leader Debbie Cook after she publicly questioned the church’s aggressive fundraising tactics and other practices.

Last November a number of former Scientologists also claimed the church uses coercive fundraising tactics to feed its voracious appetite for cash.

The current issue of Skeptic Magazine features a cover article titled, “The Decline and (Probable) Fall of the Scientology Empire!”

Scientology watcher Tony Ortega says for those who have wanted a compact overview of where Scientology has been and where it is going, this is a handy guide.

After 25 years in operation, the Cult Information Centre in England fears it may no longer be able to work effectively.

The Cult Information Centre (CIC) was granted education charity status in 1992 but has recently run into difficulties with the commission after complaints were received from the Church of Scientology that it is in breach of the rules governing status.

The Church of Scientology has been rocked by accusations from one of its former senior executives that the religion is becoming a hollow moneymaking machine run by an autocratic ruler.

In recent years many high-profile members have left the cult. While some keep their faith in Scientology they speak out against what they consider the hi-jacking of their religion by David Miscavige and his supporters.

The mother of a boy who killed himself cannot sue his father and the Church of Scientology — which wages an ongoing hate campaign against psychiatry, psychiatrist and psychiatric medicines — for taking away his antidepressants, a federal judge ruled.

An Australian resident has told Lateline, an Australian television news and current affairs program, that the Church of Scientology imprisoned her on its cruise ship The Freewinds.

Valeska Paris says the Church of Scientology’s leader David Miscavige — who she describes as a psychopath — sent her to the ship when she was 17, to prevent her mother taking her away from Scientology.

Former Scientology insiders say the church uses coercive fundraising tactics to feed its voracious appetite for cash.

So says the St. Petersburg Times in its latest series of exposes covering the Church of Scientology.

A Paris appeals court has rejected a bid by the Church of Scientology to get the group’s fraud conviction thrown out because the case has taken too long.

The refusal of that request means the appeals hearing will move forward

The appeal for the Church of Scientology’s conviction on fraud has opened in a Paris court.

The cult’s defense lawyersh plan to argue during the appeal that the conviction curtails freedom of religion and association.

Moscow police have been searching the Church of Scientology on Taganskaya Street since Thursday morning.

According to a source who spoke to Russian news agency 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.”

A former rugby league star has attacked the head of the church of Scientology, David Miscavige, describing him as a “violent man” who sent him to a re-education camp for 2 1/2-years where he was paid as little as $2 a week and stripped of his passport.

The cult refers to the camp as a “voluntary religious program of spiritual rehabilitation.” Critics call it a prison camp in which cult member are brainwashed.

The historic Alhambra cinema building belongs to the international Scientology movement through trustee Gur Finkelstein, who is suspected of attempted murder.

The foreclosure followed a petition by N.N. Salati Engineering and Projects Management, which last week filed a NIS 7.6 million suit against Finkelstein and the Scientology movement.

The Scientology cult appears to have dodged a bullet as elements of the draft report by Australia’s Fair Work Ombudsman – such as indications that allegations of slavery and human rights abuses would be referred to ”the relevant authority” for further investigation – have been omitted from the final public version.

But the Church of Scientology has been put on notice that is must conform to the Fair Work Act.

The Scientology cult is facing a class action in Australia over claims it underpaid former workers. Earlier this week it was revealed that a draft report by the Fair Work Ombudsman had found the church had wrongly classified employees as volunteers.

Law firm Slater and Gordon has also been looking into the claims and says under the Fair Work Act, those employees and ex-employees are owed large sums of money in wages, holiday pay, overtime and superannuation.

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