Scientologists go on trial in France for fraud

By Thierry Leveque

PARIS (Reuters) - The Church of Scientology's French branch went on trial Monday on charges of organised fraud, in a case that could lead to the group being dissolved in France.

Registered as a religion in the United States, with celebrity members such as actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, Scientology enjoys no such legal protection in France and has faced repeated accusations of being a money-making cult.

The French branch of the group said Monday religious freedom was threatened.

Its Paris headquarters and bookshop are defendants in the case. If found guilty, they could be fined 5 million euros (4.4 million pounds) and ordered to halt their activities.

Since the two units account for most of the group's activities in France, that would in practice mean its dissolution -- although it is unclear whether it could still open new centres in the future.

Six leading French Scientology members are also in the dock. Some are charged with illegally practising as pharmacists and face up to 10 years in prison and hefty fines. A seventh defendant died before the case came to trial.

The case centres on a complaint made in 1998 by a woman who said she was enrolled into Scientology after members approached her in the street and persuaded her to do a personality test.

In the following months, she paid more than 21,000 euros for books, "purification packs" of vitamins, sauna sessions and an "e-metre" to measure her spiritual progress, she said.