Path: netnews.worldnet.att.net!hunter.premier.net!www.nntp.primenet.com!nntp.primenet.com!news-feed.inet.tele.dk!cph-1.news.DK.net!dkuug!dknet!funny.bahnhof.se!seunet!news2.swip.net!mn6.swip.net!mn5.swip.net!news From: "johan s" Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology Subject: FREEDOM distributed in Stockholm - Mud-throwing at Zenon Date: 20 Nov 1996 18:49:30 GMT Organization: none Lines: 134 Message-ID: <01bbd713$52fec780$4c67f482@compaq> NNTP-Posting-Host: dialup103-4-16.swipnet.se NNTP-Posting-User: s-90108 X-Newsreader: Microsoft Internet News 4.70.1155 After lurking this newsgroup for a couple of weeks, and also curiously attending the so called Stockholm Picket (might be on that tape...) apart from reading every word in the press, I today feel it is my responsibility to take part in the discussion. Earlier today a friend of mine brought it to my attention that Freedom - Scientology´s official newsletter was being distributed on the streets of Stockholm. Since he knew about my interest in a.r.s. he handed me a copy. Geeee.... Are these people for real? Having read the inquiries from the outside world about press clips and media attention, I´ll try to sum it up for you. I´m sorry if it´s yesterday´s news, or if Freedom is internationally distributed and you already knew. And yes, you might have realized that English is a second language to me and other swedes. Since I don´t know if quotation marks are valid on the Internet (yes, I´m quite new here), I ´ve started each direct quotation with _ and ended with _ also which I believe is a preferred way on the Usenet.( When something is quoted or put between marks in the original text, I´ll use * and*.) - - - First of all, Tarja Vulto, the information secretary of the CoS, Stockholm, welcomes the reader to the first swedish special edition of Freedom. She explains the newsletter´s origin and it´s principal purpose: _to give an update about what is going on within the CoS, but also deal with subjects related to human rights and the freedom of the individual_. Vulto continues by stating that: _the dramatic increase in interest about the Scientology, both in the media on the Internet, has raised many questions about the religion Scientology. What is Scientology? What do we believe in? ... And what is it that makes certain people attack Scientology?_ _In this issue we present the truth and the answers to these and many other questions._ Vulto continues, and during some 400 words describes the CoS history in Sweden and that central in the religion is the freedom of speech. All over the world the church and it´s members continiously fight to preserve and establish human rights. For example, the church in the 70s pointed out the cruel violations of these human rights in South Africa. She also mentions the CoS work efforts against drug abuse and reading/writing difficulities. _We believe that every citizen needs to contribute in some way to handle social problems and uphold human rights._ _Following the church´s success is a Swedish case, which has received a lot of attention, where an individual against the law has tried to take advantage of the church name and spread its copyright-protected material on the Internet, and by blackmailing and threatening has tried to receive money._ _Since the individual is insusceptable to any suggestions to make him stop his violations, even references to earlier court orders in nearly identical US cases in favor of the church, he has left the church with no other choice than to take legal actionsin order to stop these illegal activities._ _It is true that the church, since long time fighting for human rights, decency/honesty and justice, is being perceived as a threat by individuals with destructive intentions. When these kind of motives oppose the church´s activities we don´t hesitate to make public statements and point this out._ _Generally speaking I hope that this issue will bring you a better understanding about Scientology and what its members do We will be happy to answer your questions, and I welcome letters and direct inquiries about this issue of Freedom._ (I´ll give you the addresses later on in this message, along with the copyright statements about Freedom - but now let´s get to the case of Zenon and the Swedish Riksdag.) Following Vulto´s editorial is an article, quite long, headlined _All Clear for Stealing_ (Fritt fram for stold, in swedish) and with the byline: _the Swedish Parliament turns into international resort for copyright violations_ _Following the bizarre plans of an individual, by certain media betitled *copyright terrorist*, the Swedish parliament has been made into an accomplice in copying and distributing stolen property. The matter is unpublished, copyright protected scripts that originally were stolen from the church of Scientology in the 1980s. Zenon Panoussis, the Egypt born swedish citizen who brought the Swedish parliament with him in his dubious activities, had already been forbidden by Swedish courts to violate the ownership of these sacred documents and were also refused to own a single copy. Hoping to circumvent the court order, forbidding him to possess, copy and distribute this material, Panoussis manipulated the constitutional principle of public parliament documents. By placing copies of the material in the parliament archives, Panoussis turned them into *public* documents and thereby put the parliament in the position of having to make the same troublesome violations of illegal possession, copying and distribution that he himself had done._ _After being ordered by courts to stop the violations of these immaterial rights concerning these documents, and being refused to possess even a single copy of the material, the data-anarchist Zenon Panoussis, for mysterious reasons, has distorted the constitutional public rights (offentlighetsprincipen). By placing unpublished and copyright protected work in the parliament, Panoussis has tried to circumvent Swedish court orders forbidding his possession, copying and distribution of the material, and so make the parliament do the same violations. He has severely manipulated and is continuing to manipulate on of the most important principles of the Swedish constitution, guaranteeing access to *public* documents. Now what is all this about? And what are the consequences to the regular Swedish citizen, not a thief, anarchist or *copyright terrorist*? Even though these are not simple questions, it IS important that this story is understood by all those who salute our constitution and appreciate the built-in freedoms of our system. These are the foundations that are being threatened by people like Zenon Panoussis. He is looking for loopholes in the law to avoid the consequences of his own lwalessness. People like him nesseciatates the creation of new laws to clear out possible doubtfulness. It is the lawobeying people´s rights that are being restricted - the criminal just look for a way to avoid the new law._ - - - (This was just 25 percent of the second article, but I´ll pass this on for you to read meanwhile I´ll translate the rest of it... damn hard work, not only because of the constant repeats. Again, my apologies for any inconvenience you might have experienced trying to understand the original text - I´m doing this almost word by word... But it´s fun!) Regards, Johan S _translated_ by Johan Sjokvist _(c) 1996 Church of Scientology, Stockholm Reprinting is authorized with references to the source. (YES!) Publisher: Gullevi Almgren, Stockholm Church of Scientology, Stockholm Gotgatan 105 116 62 Stockholm phone: +46-8-640 06 81_