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| Scientologists convicted of fraud | Scientologists convicted of fraud |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A French court has convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud, but stopped short of banning the group from operating in France. | A French court has convicted the Church of Scientology of fraud, but stopped short of banning the group from operating in France. |
| Two branches of the group's French operations and its leader in France have been fined, reports say. | Two branches of the group's French operations and its leader in France have been fined, reports say. |
| The case centred on a complaint by a woman who says she was pressured into paying large sums of money after being offered a free personality test. | The case centred on a complaint by a woman who says she was pressured into paying large sums of money after being offered a free personality test. |
| The Church denied that any mental manipulation took place. | The Church denied that any mental manipulation took place. |
| France regards Scientology as a sect, not a religion and prosecutors had asked for the group's French operations to be dissolved. | France regards Scientology as a sect, not a religion and prosecutors had asked for the group's French operations to be dissolved. |
| Instead, a judge ordered the Church's Celebrity Centre and a bookshop to pay a 600,000 euro (£544,000) fine, AFP news agency reported. | Instead, a judge ordered the Church's Celebrity Centre and a bookshop to pay a 600,000 euro (£544,000) fine, AFP news agency reported. |
| Alain Rosenberg, the group's head in France, was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence and fined 30,000 euros, the report said. | Alain Rosenberg, the group's head in France, was handed a two-year suspended jail sentence and fined 30,000 euros, the report said. |
| In ruling that the group did not need to shut down, the court argued that it would be likely to continue its activities anyway, "outside any legal framework". |