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Scientologists convicted of fraud Scientologists convicted of fraud
(40 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 came after complaints from two women, one of whom said she was pressured into paying more than 20,000 euros (£18,100) for expensive products.
The Church denied that any mental manipulation took place. France regards Scientology as a sect, not a religion.
France regards Scientology as a sect, not a religion and prosecutors had asked for the group's French operations to be dissolved. Prosecutors had asked for the group's French operations to be dissolved and more heavily fined, but a legal loophole prevented the court from taking these extra measures.
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. 'Commercial operation'
Instead, a judge ordered the Church's Celebrity Centre and a bookshop to pay a 600,000 euro 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". Other leading members of the group were also fined.
Unlike the US, France has always refused to recognise Scientology as a religion, arguing that it is a purely commercial operation designed to make as much money as it can at the expense of often vulnerable victims, the BBC's Emma Jane Kirby reports from Paris.
Over the past 10 years, France has taken several individual members of the group to court on charges of fraud and misleading publicity, but this is the first time the organisation itself has been charged, she says.
In the case leading up to Tuesday's ruling, the Church denied that any mental manipulation took place.
A lawyer defending Scientology's operations in France said there would be an appeal.
The Church of Scientology was founded in 1954 by the late science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard, and includes Hollywood stars such as John Travolta and Tom Cruise.