Scientology Lies

Several of the seven defendants in a suit launched by Scientology feel their lives may be in danger.

The Church of Scientology was recently ordered to pay the defendants $60,500 in legal fees because the church's delaying tactics in proceeding with the suit constituted an abuse of process. Scientology launched the suit in 1976.

One defendant, Lorna Levett, who left the church in 1974 after 13 years involvement says Scientologists have condemned her to "Process R-245".

She says this means being shot in the head by a .45 calibre pistol.

One year after the suit was launched, Ms. Levett claims she received a phone call.

The caller said "You¹ve got a week to get out of town, you dirty SP (SP is a Scientology term for "suppressive person" ­ one who opposes the church)."

"I asked them what they meant," said Ms. Levett: "They said, "You"ve heard of R-245, haven"t you?" Then they hung up."

Ms. Levett claims to have received a number of threatening letters after her defection from the church, including pictures of decaying bodies, a voodoo doll, and two parcels which brought the bomb squad to her home.

One of them turned out to be a postcard of someone being hung, tied with a noose. The other was a box of chocolates.

One letter, supposedly from a psychiatrist, claimed Ms. Levett was schizophrenic and promiscuous.

During her term as a member of Scientology, Ms. Levett amassed written procedural material from Scientology in which the policy of harassing anti-Scientologists is set forth.

Ms. Levett quoted one such piece of material called the "fair game" rule.

She said it states anyone opposing Scientology "may be tricked, lied to, sued or destroyed by any means."

When asked if Ms. Levett"s fears were legitimate, a second defendant in the suit, Betty McCoy replied, "Absolutely."

Mrs. McCoy, who became opposed to Scientology when her son Mickey joined the church in 1974, fears her life may be in danger as well.

She recently found a strange bottle in her liquor cabinet, for example.

"It tasted terrible. It burnt all the way down. We don't know where it came from."

Mrs. McCoy took the bottle to the police, but does not yet know what was in it.

A third defendant, Neil Taylor, says the worst thing that"s happened to him so far is having the hood of his car stolen.

"But they do try to scare people," he said. "They wouldn"t hesitate to threaten anyone."

Scientology launched the defamation suit against the seven after they wrot to MPs and MLAs requesting an investigation.

They were astounded when the confidential letters they'd written turned up in Scientologists" hands.

"It"s never come out how they (Scientologists) obtained them," said Mr. Taylor.

The Scientologists said the MPs gave them the letters, but the MPs denied this.