A cult group on Tenerife, an island off Spain, was foiled by police in a mass suicide attempt - twice. The alleged cult leader, German psychologist Heide Fittkau-Garthe, was charged with attempted murder and "inducement to suicide" and was ordered held without bail. After the first attempt failed, 19 of the 32 members -- including three children -- tried to kill themselves again. They believed the world was about to end and a spaceship would rescue their spirits from an island volcano.
Aum Shinrikyo, the cult blamed for the March 1995 subway nerve gas attack, will have to pay survivors and the families of those killed up to 1.12 billion yen ($8.62 million) in damages, court officials decided. The number of followers of the religious cult currently stands at around 2,200, and the cult is actively recruiting, police said.
An Athens appeals court upheld stiff prison sentences for two young Satanists, convicted of rape and murder in black magic ceremonies that shocked Greece.
Details of the secret Scientology Internal Revenue Service tax settlement in 1993 were recently made public by the Wall Street Journal. According to the agreement, Scientology paid the IRS $12.5 million and got tax-exempt status to end a long-standing dispute with the tax agency. As part of the deal, Scientology agreed to drop the 2,200 lawsuits the organization and its members had pending against the service.
| Page one | Page two | Page three | Page four |
This editorial/opinion/news alert has been provided or
distributed by FACTNet, Inc. (Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network.) Since
1993 we have been the largest online news and referral service as well as
research archive for defending freedom of thought and mind from all forms of
unethical influence tactics, mind control and mental coercion/torture used in
destructive cults and fundamentalist groups. FACTNet is a tax deductible, IRS
Approved 501(c)(3) non profit organization.
For breaking news, personal stories, recovery information, support groups,
expert referrals, message boards, newsletters and books relating to destructive
cults and fundamentalism, mind control, mental coercion and unethical
psychological influence, please visit our web site at
http://www.factnet.org If you would
like to comment on this editorial/opinion/news or to share your personal
experiences, go to one of our many various message boards at
http://www.factnet.org/discus/ .
Re-distribution and re-posting of this document using proper net etiquette when
doing so, is appreciated!
* E-mail: manage@factnet.org
* For Free Subscriptions to our Newsletters and Editorials:
http://lists.factnet.org/mailman/listinfo/factnet-news
* Donations:
http://www.factnet.org/donation.htm
F.A.C.T.Net, Inc.
PO Box 1314
Ignacio, CO 81137-1314 USA
A
