alt_religion_scientology/FACTNetARS19950412

SUICIDE RESEARCH UPDATE

April 12, 1995

FACTNet continues to receive hundreds of reports concerning suicides,
attempted suicides, episodes of psychosis and neurosis, child abuse,
and other casualties related to Scientology practices.

This work is so important that there are only three things FACTNet is
now working on:
1. defending the library against Scientology attacks,
2. collecting more casualty reports, and
3. finishing two other research reports that we promised.

The best reports are coming from the personal recollections of auditors,
former GO/OSA staff, and former high level executives. The reports
describe cover-ups of Scientology members becoming psychotic or suicidal,
committing suicide or otherwise suffering from abuses while receiving
Scientology's services. The reports are far too numerous to be ignored
any longer by readers of a.r.s., participants in the free zone, and the
networks of former members these groups are connected to.

I personally have read almost every report and my concern grows
daily for the harm that still seems to be going on in Scientology.
Just recently, I read some new reports from former high level flag
auditors. What they describe is criminal. Even though I have been
hardened by years of talking to parents who have lost their children
and by the constant OSA/GO attacks on myself, I still often come close
to tears as I read the stream of new reports.

Reading all the suicide and attempted suicide reports which have somehow
squeezed through Scientology's security machine, which I believe are only
a fraction of the actual abuse, has forced me to re-question the
plausibility of Scientology's story about the death of L. Ron Hubbard.
I think it is time to open a dialog on the Internet. The question
is, "was anything true in Scientology's story about Hubbard's death?"

Did L Ron Hubbard commit suicide? At the time of his death, was he
mentally incompetent as a result of his own experiments? Was he too
sick to make competent decisions? Was he under undue influence from
David Miscavige when he transferred control of more than a billion
dollars in assets from his own family to Miscavige?

FACTNet wants to thank all of you who have sent us your reports. To
those of you who have information or still have more information to
send, I beg you to do it now for several reasons.

1. The number, consistency, and seriousness of these reports creates
a moral and humanitarian imperative for current and former members to
provide all the information they have to Factnet's investigation. Many
countries have laws similar to California's Restatement of Agency,
Section 395(f), "An agent [staff members are agents] is privileged to
reveal information confidentially acquired by him in the course of his
agency in the protection of a SUPERIOR interest of himself or a third
party." I believe these reports demonstrate such a superior interest.

2. Only by reassembling all of our personal recollections will it
become possible to pierce any possible Scientology cover-up and prevent
potential calamities in the future. Those of you who need a copy of
our investigation questionnaire, go to our ftp site at rmii.com
(ftp/pub2/factnet) or call our BBS at (303) 530-1942 and download the
file called CHRON5.TXT.

3. Several governments investigating Scientology have taken the
utmost interest in these reports and will bring or are bringing their
considerable investigatory resources into the equation.

WHY HAVE THESE REPORTS BEEN HIDDEN SO LONG?

It is a miracle in many ways that the number of reports covered in
FACTNet's questionnaire have squeezed through the cracks of Scientology's
secrecy structure. Scientology members are forbidden to talk to each
other about anything negative that happens to them while undergoing
Scientology techniques.

The Scientology staff who are allowed to talk to about the negative
effects of Scientology techniques are forbidden to disclose the true
nature, severity, or number of Scientology-related casualties to anyone
but one or two other individuals whose primary job is to suppress this
type of information. Members who may accidentally hear such reports are
deceived into rationalizing that something was wrong with the individual
or that the path through the secret levels is a narrow and perilous "wall
of fire" and casualties are to be expected. Consequently, members have
no idea they are being used as guinea pigs for dangerous psychological
control experiments and no idea that many people before them have suffered
dire harm because of them.

WHAT WILL BE DONE WITH THE INFORMATION

The information will be used for comprehensive summary reports which
may have the following uses:
- government or private agencies responsible for protecting the public
safety and mental health,
- agencies that protect the public from criminal activities,
- ongoing civil or criminal litigation in cases of wrongful death or
other charges, and
- investigative media reporters seeking to call the public's attention
to possible danger in these matters.

If you wish to restrict the use of the information you submit to us, you
need to specify those restrictions in your report.

WHAT TO DO

Send any information you have about Scientology's abuse of its members
or others to Scientology Investigation c/o F.A.C.T.Net Inc., 601 16th.
C-217, Golden CO 80403, USA. Phone your report to 1-303-650-3650
or e-mail it to < XXX-Obsolete.email.Deleted-XXX >. You may also leave email (and see
lots of other good stuff) on the FACTNet BBS at (303) 530-1942. Please
note that because of the volume of reports, we are not handling any
reports or requests by phone. All reports or requests for additional
information must be written.

Distribute copies of our investigation questionnaire (CHRON5.TXT) to
every Scientology organization close to your home, every former
Scientologist in your mailing list and anyone else you think could help.
Electronically post the questionnaire and this document on every computer
bulletin board (BBS) that discusses Scientology or its front organizations.

Thank you in advance for your reports,

Lawrence Wollersheim

For the Board of Directors of FACTNet Inc.