Independent senator Nick Xenophon says the Church of Scientology is a criminal organisation that should be be investigated by police and the parliament.
Senator Xenophon last night used parliamentary privilege to attack the church, after being contacted by a number of former Scientologists who accused the organisation of ‘‘shocking’’ crimes.
‘‘Scientology is not a religious organisation; it is a criminal organisation that hides behind its so-called religious beliefs,’’ he told the Senate.
’’The letters received by me which were written by former followers in Australia contains extensive allegations of crimes and abuses that are truly shocking - crimes against them and crimes they say they were coerced into committing.
‘‘These victims of Scientology claim it is an abusive, manipulative, violent and criminal organisation, and that criminality is condoned at the highest levels.’’
The South Australian Senator said he had been contacted by former Scientologists after questioning the organisation’s tax-exempt status in a recent television interview.
Senator Xenophon said their correspondence implicated the organisation in a range of crimes, including forced imprisonment, coerced abortions, embezzlement of church funds, physical violence, intimidation and blackmail.
‘‘I am deeply concerned about this organisation and the devastating impact it can have on its followers,’’ he told the Senate.
He tabled in Parliament a number of letters from former members of the organisation, which he said he has passed on to the police.
In one, Paul David Schofield said his first daughter Lauren died after she was allowed to wander one of the Church of Scientology’s Sydney buildings and fell down some stairs.
‘‘My wife and I were actively discouraged from seeking compensation from the church,’’ he wrote.
‘‘I was also encouraged by church executives to request no coronial enquiry (sic) into her death, something I stupidly agreed with at that time.’’
Mr Schofield’s second daughter Kirsty also died, in this case after ingesting potassium chloride at the family home - a substance he said was used widely in the organisation’s ‘‘purification’’ programs.
In another letter, Aaron Saxton said as a member of the organisation he participated in the ‘‘forced confinement and torture’’ of others.
He wrote that Scientologists considered to be ‘‘underperforming’’ were placed on diets of beans and rice for up to two weeks at a time, and they were also not allowed to access medications or undergo procedures such as pap smears.
Senator Xenophon said many names had been erased from the letters he had tabled.
‘‘But those names haven’t been removed from copies I am providing to the police,’’ he said.
‘‘This organisation must be investigated.’’
Senator Xenophon also called for a Senate inquiry into the Church of Scientology’s tax exempt status in Australia.
The Church of Scientology said the comments were ‘‘an outrageous abuse of parliamentary privilege’’.
‘‘Senator Xenophon is obviously being pressured by disgruntled former members who use hate speech and distorted accounts of their experiences in the church,’’ the organisation said in a statement to AAP.
‘‘They are about as reliable as former spouses are when talking about their ex-partner.
‘‘This is a propaganda campaign that would suit a totalitarian regime, not Australia, a country that recognises freedom of religion.’’
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