Religious freedom for all – except FreeZoners

Note: FreeZoner is a term used to describe a person who practices Scientology outside of, and separate from, the Church of Scientology organisation.

The concept of ‘religious freedom’ is arguably one of the most successful PR tactics used by the Church of Scientology to deflect criticism. Whether the criticism concerns the extortionate pricing structure the disconnection policies, the fair game policy, et cætera, one of the most common responses is to brand the critic as a religious bigot. How far this tactic is taken was illustrated when, in the US court case of Wollersheim V Church of Scientology of California, the Church of Scientology actually tried to argue that their fair game actions directed at Wollersheim were a ‘core practice of Scientology’ that should be deserving of constitutional protection because it was ‘religious expression’ (the court, unsurprisingly, disagreed).

However, it appears that ‘religious freedom’ does not apply if you are an ex-member of the Church of Scientology, especially if you are a FreeZoner.

Brett Allen Haugen found this out the hard way when, as he alleges in the recent lawsuit he filed (1.5Mb PDF), he was fired from a WISE company (World Institute of Scientology Enterprises) for being spotted at a Freezoner meeting. Religious freedom is, apparently, not for all.

The Church of Scientology has long since held great hatred towards FreeZone groups. The source for this hatred stems from the following ten points, as found in the Keeping Scientology Working policy letter of 1965:

Getting the correct technology applied consists of:

One: Having the correct technology.

Two: Knowing the technology.

Three: Knowing it is correct.

Four: Teaching correctly the correct technology.

Five: Applying the technology.

Six: Seeing that the technology is correctly applied.

Seven: Hammering out of existence incorrect technology.

Eight: Knocking out incorrect applications.

Nine: Closing the door on any possibility of incorrect technology.

Ten: Closing the door on incorrect application.

FreeZone groups are considered ‘squirrel’ groups per this policy (‘squirreling’ something means to alter that something). An example of the sort of PR effort found in Scientology magazines is this extract from page 10 of KSW News Issue 44:

Religious Technology Center Wins its Most Major Victory to Date Against Squirrel.

A U.S. District Judge ruled for RTC against one squirrel and his associates, dismissing all their counter-claims against the Church in a ruling that means they were properly labeled as squirrels by the Church.

Religious Technology Center brought suit against several squirrel groups and their principals a number of years ago in Federal Court in Los Angeles. The suit concerned their involvement in the theft of upper level materials from the Church, which they then perverted and attempted to use for personal profit. The squirrels were sued for racketeering, receipt of stolen property, and trademark, trade secret and copyright infringement.

Litigation went poorly for them from the beginning. One squirrel had to serve time in a maximum security prison for theft of the materials, and was then deported from Denmark, the scene of the crime. Several others failed to appear in court at all, and now face assessment of substantial damages as a result.

Throughout the legal proceedings, the squirrels did not fare well. Forced to confront the magnitude of their overts on the witness stand, they resorted to lies to such a degree that they ruined their credibility as witnesses. In assessing the testimony of one squirrel, the judge stated: “I listened to him testify and I didn’t find his testimony credible. I said he was not a credible witness. That is about the worst thing you can say about a witness that I know of.”

Attempting to hide behind the law by getting the court to sanction their unethical and illegal activities, the squirrels filed a counter-suit, and even persuaded a psychiatrist to spend millions of dollars to keep the suit alive.”

Brief explanation of some of the terms used:

Overts – A Scientology term used to describe a person’s undisclosed ‘crimes’.

Psychiatrist – According to Scientology all psychiatrists are evil and hell-bent on harming the world. They are the ‘bogeymen’ of Scientology doctrine.

It is worth pointing out a number of things relating to the above referenced lawsuit. The claim regarding thefts from Denmark was judged “not supported by the evidence” in RTC V FACTnet. A search through Google scholar’s legal database reveals the above case to likely be RTC et al. V Scott et al.. A quick reading of the RTC et al. V Scott et al. case (and it is well worth reading) shows the above account from KSW News to be at odds with reality. The relevant quote:

The facts are as follows: On January 20, 1993, the special master awarded attorneys fees, first under the Lanham Act finding the case exceptional because the plaintiffs “have abused the federal court system by using it, inter alia, to destroy their opponents, rather than to resolve an actual dispute over trademark law or any other legal matter.” The master also awarded fees pursuant to the Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. § 505, finding that the plaintiffs’ complaints had been brought “in bad faith” to harass the individual defendants and destroy the church through massive over-litigation and other highly questionable litigation tactics.” The master also awarded fees pursuant to the court’s inherent authority to award fees when the losing party has acted in bad faith. Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. v. Wilderness Society, 421 U.S. 240, 258 (1975). Finally, the master declined to base the attorneys fees award on California contract law because “California contract law might collide with the first amendment in this particular context.”

The master made a succinct statement as to the fees requested, noting that “many attorneys worked many, many hours on this case”; that the hours were reasonable “given the plethora of constitutional issues, discovery stand-offs, appeals, and, most importantly, plaintiffs’ practice of endlessly litigating issues”; and that the hourly rates were reasonable for federal civil practice within the Central District of California. The master recommended an award of $2.9 million.

It is hard to reconcile the Church of Scientology’s claims of upholding religious freedom while they simultaneously abuse the court system to harass FreeZone groups in the above manner. But even these public actions, which garner the similarly factually erroneous write-ups as that quoted earlier from KSW News, may only be the tip of the iceberg. The following operation policy, made public thanks to ex-inspector general of the Church of Scientology Marty Rathbun, illustrates just how hollow the ‘religious freedom’ claims of the Church of Scientology really are:

 

FREEZONE CIS – FINAL HANDLING PROGRAM

 

References Section:

 

HCO PL 11 May 1971, Issue II, PR Series 7, Black PR

 

HCO PL 21 Nov 1972, PR Series 18, How to Handle Black Propaganda

 

HCO PL 16 Feb 69, re-iss. 24 Sep 1984, Battle Tactics

 

HCOB 26 Dec 1968, The Third Party Law

 

ED 149 INT, 2 Dec 1966, Project Squirrel

 

HCO Exec Letter, 27 Sep 1965, re-iss. 24 Sep 1983, Amprinistics

 

HCO PL 7 Mar 65, Suppressive Acts, Suppression of Scn & Scientologists

 

HCO PL 1 Dec 1979, Flourish and Prosper

 

INFORMATION:

 

During the second half of 2006, 5 Freezone (FZ) delivery activities closed down in Russia. Still, these handlings are moving too slow. There are another 15 groups that are part of the CIS Freezone network. There are also four groups in the Ukraine and one each in Moldova and Belarus. The squirrels violate our marks and copyrights and they must be handled NOW.

 

There are connections between CIS squirrel activities and the Western EU groups in Bern, Frankfurt and Munich. The Swiss squirrels operate as OLs for the Russian ones. The Swiss ringleader has organized “training camps” in Russia. It was also learned that the key FZ members in Switzerland and Germany have “solved” their shortage of delivery materials by concentrating the lower level training materials on a Russia-based server which they access through a secret password they share.

 

PAST EFFECTIVE ACTIONS:

 

By analysis, the following actions have proven successful to deal with squirrels in CIS over the last couple of years:

Using resources to gain insight and prediction

Using the insight to discover out legal ruds and getting authorities to act

Generating threats of copyright infringement action

Spreading defeatism and disaffection on the squirrel news sites

Creating 3P between Russian group leaders and the Swiss ringleader.

Labeling the FZ an OPC intell operation

Locating crimes of the squirrels’ top strata (e.g. tax evasion) and causing complaints to be filed and official action to be taken.

 

 

 

PROGRAM PURPOSE:

 

TO TERMINATEDLY HANDLE THE FREEZONE IN RUSSIA AND CIS AS A SOURCE OF BLACK PR ON SCIENTOLOGY AND AS A TRAVESTY OF STANDARD TECH THAT RUINS PEOPLE’S SPIRITUAL FUTURE.

 

MAJOR TARGETS:

 

1. To permanently break the connection between the Swiss and Russian Freezone and

 

get the CIS groups engaging in internecine feuds that shatter the network to its core.

 

2. Establish effective control over the squirrel newsgroups for CIS and make the sites a

 

hotbed of messages about disaffection and defeatism.

 

3. To expose the Freezone leadership to their membership as criminal fraud and get them under official investigation so they lose the support of their clientele and can no longer afford to operate and must fold.

 

PRIMARY TARGETS:

Assume full responsibility for achieving the Major Targets and the Purpose of the Program.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Read and W/C this program and the policies in the reference section of this program.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Receive a program check from your senior so you can attest that you understand this program fully.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Keep this program and its program folder in a secure space.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Report with specifics on the targets done and progress made on a weekly basis, with cc’s to Invest seniors at EU level.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

 

VITAL TARGETS:

Maintain complete security of the comm lines between resources and your own

 

personnel.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Keep the identities of your resources secure. Never brief your resources about

 

anyone else being used on these projects.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Keep even the intra office communications about these targets limited to your

 

seniors and only those juniors who need to know the data for their post.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Do not operate at risk but plan every action thoroughly until you are sure that it will

 

work as you have worked it out.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Never do anything outside the letter of the law. Get legal clearance on your planned actions.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Realize preparation of the resources is a key to success—thus, prepare, brief and

 

drill them thoroughly until they have no doubt what the needed product is and how

 

they will get it.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

When meeting with a resource for debriefing purposes, always observe the person’s indicators so as to pick up any BI’s. If such are present, handle right away by finding out and remedying the cause for the BI.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Don’t allow the execution of this program to come to a halt but get any slow or halted targets debugged immediately so they get done with the intended effect.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Don’t stop any investigation after you find a violation but keep digging for more

 

crimes so you can be sure that the FZ group or group leader will not withstand the

 

complaints.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Monitor the squirrel newsgroups daily to observe developments and spot opportunities for reinforcing your actions towards the Major Targets and Purpose of

 

this program.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Predict the venues of any future squirrel events and suitably enlightening the

 

proprietors of these establishments to get them to refuse to house the squirrels’

 

events because it is just too much hassle (including, possibly, causing authorities to

 

look too closely in their direction).

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

 

OPERATING TARGETS:

Locate suitable professional resources to become members of the key FZ groups.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Before briefing the first candidate on any details or the target area, look over his/her history and activities and clear him/her for this work, including getting checked on the meter on questions that establish trustworthiness, ability to maintain security and that he/she is not pursuing any personal opportunities but is intent on getting the job done for the benefit of our group.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Once passed by you on security, brief the person on what work is required and

 

why (including DA’ing the nutty, SP lies being spread that the person is likely to be running into). Get their agreement to do the job.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Brief him/her on the group you want to have insight into and what prediction is

 

required. This briefing is based on ED 149 INT, Project Squirrel: “… 3. It will be found uniformly (despite first view there is no evidence of it) that anti-Scientologists have in their background this life crimes for which they could be arrested. 4. When one finds such a crime one must get documents or witnesses and evidences sufficient for prosecution. …”

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Work out the identity and cover story for the person and get this understood as

 

well as the mode of first contact with the group and how to get accepted by them.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Work out what the legal ruds are for an operation like the squirrel group, including incorporation in the proper category, city operating licenses, minimum space requirements, staff registration, work papers, staff insurance and withholding taxes,

 

invoicing and accounting requirements, etc. Get the resources hatted on these details so they can recognize anything not being done correctly.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Set up the mode of completely secure communication with the resource and when and how data reports will flow back from the resource.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Qualify at least 4 resources in this manner, two for each of the two main groups, and get each of resources cleared and prepared as per OTs 2-7.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Pick the target group for the resource, initiate the planned contact with the group and get the resource accepted as a student.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get the resources in the Kaydakov group report on what “services” are being delivered and what material is being used for their courses , noting especially any copies being used of materials published by the Church or New Era.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get the data to the attorney and get instructions on what other details need to be collected to have evidence of violations.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Work out how to get useable evidence without endangering the identity and position of the resource in the group.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Have the resources in the Kaydakov group locate specific out legal ruds and report on these in detail.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Have the attorney tell you what type of evidence is needed for a complaint that will get the authorities to take action against the Kaydakov group.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Work out how to obtain this evidence so that it is useable and does not create suspicion against the resource in any way.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Procure the evidence of these illegal acts.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Draw up a complaint from the right source. Work this out with the attorney, including how the evidence was obtained so that the resources won’t be compromised in any way by the official investigation.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

File the complaint with the correct agency and apply 8C to get it acted upon.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Carry out the above targets 9 to 18 the Zadeev group.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Conditional: If the status of the resources as mere members does not put them into position to obtain leads of illegalities and evidence thereof, have them volunteer in whatever “ethics” area the squirrels have or have them work on “research projects”—both of these allow them to ask questions and find out data.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Mock up a folder for each of the complaints. In it place a list of steps of how each complaint is to be 8C’d through the correct procedure based on the concerned agency’s regulations.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get a qualified investigator retained under an attorney and get him briefed on the data available on Kaydakov and Zadeev and their top lieutenants; in particular on what leads exist that point at criminal activities (other than those being looked for by the resources already in the group).

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get this investigator to follow up and investigate the leads and locate evidence of the crimes committed by the leading squirrels.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Coordinate with the attorney about what was found and get him to tell you what useable evidence is needed to be able to cause an official investigation and action against the offender(s).

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get the investigator to work out how to get this evidence and obtain it.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Concurrently, set up resources (as you did in OTs 2 to 7) to enter the smaller Freezone groups.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get these resources to identify violations of the codes and regulations apparent from the groups’ operations (possible are: zoning violations, lack of invoicing and suspected accounting omissions, false or omitted business registration, copyright violations, and various other out legal ruds).

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Brief the attorney on what is found and get him to tell you what further strings to pull and what evidence to obtain to support a complaint to trigger official investigations and prohibitive actions against the groups.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Conditional: If there is evidence of copyright violations, have the Church’s attorney contact the squirrel and demand immediate cessation of the violations and threaten legal action, a damage claim. Forcefully relay on and quote the pertinent statutes to leave the squirrels no room to Q&A or justify their actions.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Obtain useable evidence of illegalities (but without endangering the resources).

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Draw up a complaint from the right source. Work this out with the attorney, including how the evidence was obtained so that the resources won’t be compromised in any way by the official investigation.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

File the complaint with the correct agency.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Mock up a folder for each of the complaints. In it place a list of steps of how each complaint is to be 8C’d through the correct procedure based on the concerned agency’s regulations.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Find out what caused the Izhevsk group to break with Max Hauri.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Work out how to apply the same or similar disaffection to the two Moscow groups by using your resources or having suitable posters bring up these topics (they should by now be in a position of being able to spread the disaffection to others in the group). (E.g.: Why pay this much money to the Swiss or Germans when the same could and should be done by the Russians themselves and the money should go to the staff?)

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Implement this handling through suitable identities who can post on the news groups. Apply HCO Exec Letter 27 Sep 1965, Amprinistics, “Internal dissention is what tears these splinter groups apart. Formed by people whose overt acts against Scientology prevent case gain, they rapidly rip one another to pieces.”

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Have this started as a minor rumor that can be legitimately picked up by someone else on the chat group and turned into a hot topic of discussion. Add other points of known natter and buttons.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get the resources to bring it up to others in the group they are in—both to the clientele as well as the staff. Get it being talked about and introduce the conclusion that the Swiss and/or Germans may not be needed any longer.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get the booklet printed cheaply that contains the unsavory history of the Freezone including how the squirrels are money motivated and how in PT the Hauris have been making a mint by collecting from the Russians. Also include the data (being provided by OSA Int) that shows the OPC connections of the Swiss and German squirrels (positioning the OPC as the secret police akin to the KGB and the former East German Stasi).

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get the booklet into circulation among the squirrels, using your resources to make sure it is placed in the squirrel centers and passed around among the squirrels. Back off anyone trying to stop circulation by accusing them of trying to stop the free flow of information.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

By bright and legitimate means gather the identities and addresses of the members of the Freezone groups.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Do a mailing to the Freezone members from a source “interested in the continued free flow of information as a basic, defining characteristic of Russia’s Freezone.”

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Develop the rumor into a frenzy of disaffection and natter on the Swiss until there is a general agreement that the Hauris, indeed any Westerners, are no longer needed and wanted in the Russian Freezone groups.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Export the disaffection to the other Freezone groups in the other CIS areas (Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus).

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get the upset of the Russians in the Freezone communicated on Internet news groups so the word gets to the squirrels in Switzerland and Germany.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Have your prediction lines pick up any attempts by the Western squirrels to do damage control and work out how to intercept and prevent their efforts from succeeding.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Conditional: If you are not able to obtain all the names of Freezone members, set it up that you have a couple of person intercept the Freezone clients when they leave the squirrel premises after “course,” either outside the squirrel premises or, if this is not possible, get it to them farther away from the location, e.g., in the subway or when they get on the bus. Hand them the booklet with the message that this is “data I am giving you because the free flow of information and your spiritual future is important to me.”

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Develop what, from the viewpoint of the small Freezone group operators (those delivering out of their apartments), is wrong with the Kaydakov and Zadeev groups. Find the “hate buttons” that will get the small groups turning against the larger operators.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Use the atmosphere of natter (against the Western squirrels) to introduce disaffection with Kaydakov and Zadeev.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Have a couple of resources disaffect from the Kaydakov and Zadeev groups, claiming that they are disenchanted due to “bad service and bad mental effects.” (Use the resources who have completed their mission of finding illegalities but leave one of the resources in place in each group so you continue to get feedback and can continue to predict reactions and counter measures.)

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Turn these disaffecteds into crusaders against these groups. Have the credibility of one disaffected “student” backed up the “experiences” of other.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Get the discussion onto the newsgroups of the squirrels. Don’t “shotgun” what was found wrong, but start with one or two of the “outnesses observed” that motivated the person to become disaffected and build this into a long-running thread.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Add to this campaign by getting another resource to disaffect from one of the small groups and amplify the disaffection due to “bad results” and “squirreling.”

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Have other “squirrels” pile on with messages that preach defeatism by picking up on other incidents suitable to preaching apathy and “it’s over,” and “it’s no good.” —that the internecine conflicts show there is no future in their movement (not pushing for the Freezone to stop, but as spectator commentary and to TR3 the defeatism).

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Put defeatist messages up on squirrel sites outside Russia and have these “found” and repeated on the Russian sites or those visited by the Russians.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Create and run this campaign on the news groups until there is general upset and agreement that Kaydakov and Zadeev are comparable to the Swiss and German squirrels.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Once you have the small groups disaffected with the large operators, select a couple of unfaltering OSA staff and hat and drill them to do face-to-face confrontations with and impinge on the small-time squirrel operators. Have the staff shove good news down the squirrels’ throats about Church expansion in CIS and the rest of the world. (“Flourish and Prosper” per RJ 31) Tell them to STOP their squirreling and suppressive acts and let them know that you operate on these datums: ”(a) People who attack Scientology are criminals. (b) That if one attacks Scientology he gets investigated for crimes. c) If one does not attack Scientology, despite not being with it, one is safe.” (Taken from ED 149 INT, but don’t tell them it is directly from an LRH issue.)

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Let them know that the Church won’t stand by and tolerate them ruining other people’s spiritual future and taking down people with them but if they stop their SP activities, the Church sees no reason to keep investigating them.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Debrief each meeting in writing and based on how these squirrels reacted work out work out further handling actions so the pressure is maintained.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Conditional: Do the same with the Kiev and other Ukraine groups if they are delivering any courses.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Conditional: Repeat this action with the Moldova group if they are delivering any courses.

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

Conditional: Do the same with the Belarus group if they are delivering any courses.

 

 

 

_____________________

 

A/INVEST AIDE OSA CIS

 

PRODUCTION TARGET:

 

Program Purpose and Major Target accomplished in 6 months from receipt of this program.

 

INVEST CHIEF OSA INT