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Anonymous, the new foe of Scientology, stepped out from the shadows of the Internet on Sunday with protests in Clearwater and around the world.

Some 200 marchers, mostly young people wearing sunglasses, hats and sometimes masks, met in downtown Clearwater to shout down Scientology at the church’s spiritual headquarters.

The famous eyes stare and his head lolls about at the wonder of it all while gibberish pours from his lips. Tom Cruise is extolling the glories of Scientology. “It’s rough and tumble. It’s wild and woolly and it’s a blast,” he declares, throwing his carefully dishevelled head back and roaring with laughter. “It’s really […]

In 1997 a former member of the Church of Scientology, unhappy with courses she had taken, tried to get a refund of 700,000 Belgian francs - about $17,000. Authorities began looking into the church’s finances and interviewing people.

Now, 10 years and 76 cartons of documents later, prosecutors say the evidence points to one conclusion: The Church of Scientology in Belgium is a “criminal organization” that has used fraud and extortion to separate members from their money.

A government committee in France has recommended dissolving the Church of Scientology there, on the grounds that its activities threatens public order.

A report submitted to the Prime Minister, Lionel Jospin, described the church as a “totalitarian” sect that kept files containing personal information on its members.

They went on trial last September accused of accepting money for dubious treatments organised for church members.

Some of these included ‘purification’ sessions and vitamin cures sold at excessive prices, according to the prosecution. The case grew out of complaints by a former scientologist.

Charges of violence and illegally practising medicine have been dropped.

Prosecutors in the case had sought more severe sentences.

They argued that “beneath the religion there is a clear, institutionalised business drift” in which money was extorted by psychological manipulation. They said people with real psychological problems had been targeted.

Seven members of the Church of Scientology have gone on trial in France on charges of fraud.

The trial, in the southern city of Marseille, has led to renewed calls for the banning of Scientology in France, which officially regards it as a dangerous cult rather than a religion.

The charges against the seven defendants - who are alleged to have obtained large sums of money from fellow sect-members by fraudulent means - date back to the late 1980s.

Seven Scientologists are due to go on trial in southern France later this month after an investigation into alleged fraud, illegal practice of medicine and premeditated violence.

There have been several other cases in France’s contentious relationship with the organisation.