Alessandro Amicarelli, “a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales, and a barrister of Italy, specialising in International and Human Rights Law and Immigration and Refugee Law, dealing also with investments and sustainable development and international cooperation too” can add Scientology Safepoint to his resume.
If Amicarelli is a Scientologist we have not been able to uncover it. Rather it would appear that this UK legal eagle is one more misguided activist touting religious rights for all while ignoring the realities of the organization he’s championing.
Edward Parkin’s gleeful retweet leads to an article, one of several by Amicarelli in praise of the Cult of Scientology.
Religious activism is all well and good as long as one is informed about the groups one is promoting in a positive light. Scientology is not a religion, it is a multi million dollar conglomerate using the guise of religion in order to dodge corporate fiscal responsibility. A large portion of their tax free income is dedicated to illegal harassment, stalking and potentially even the poisoning of family pets.
There can be no defense for any group dedicated to causing harm, committing financial fraud, ripping families apart, operating under the shadow of human trafficking and child abuse.
Never Ins, this is one more way we can help; expose Scientology’s reality to those who would support or defend it.
Protecting religious freedom is crucial, protecting a cult who pretends to be a religion in order to commit crime and abuse is something else entirely. This is an important distinction that seems to be ignored but must be corrected.
Religious rights do not include freedom to break the law or commit abuse. With every pie-in-the-sky article such as the ones Amicarelli writes, the image that Scientology is just another religion who is being unfairly targeted is furthered.
In the article found in the second link above an obviously uninformed Amicarelli writes about Scientology’s involvement during the pandemic.
“…because of their stereotype that Scientology is ‘bad,’ several media accepted and published news that Scientologists were not practicing social distancing, or were spreading wild conspiracy theories about COVID-19, even if this information happened to be false.”
This information is far from false.
Video exists of Sea Org members packed in Scientology buses disembarking at Flag in Clearwater, Florida and walking together in close groups.
As readers of this blog know, we have multiple articles that firmly prove the Scientology Volunteer Ministers’ actions during this crisis have been egregiously dishonest.
Numerous times Scientology has been caught in their lies and asked to remove misleading photographs from their press releases concerning their Stay Well campaign.
Alessandro Amicarelli is either a Scientologist himself, or he is blindly showing public support for a group that thinks nothing of using tragedies as photo ops to make themselves look good.
Never Ins- If you see something, SAY something.
The following letter was mailed out. We will update if we receive a response.
Anyone who would also like to reach out to Amicarelli concerning his support of Scientology can reach him at the address noted on the letter below or he “is the current chairman and spokesman of the European Federation for Freedom of Belief (FOB).
The chairman can be reached, for inquiries or to invite him as a speaker at conferences and other events, through the administration team via email at
contact@freedomofbelief.net”
He can also be reached by email here: Alex@obasekisolicitors.com
As always be polite and courteous.
March 06, 2021
Alessandro Amicarelli
Obaseki Solicitors
27 Bentley Rd
Dalston
London N1 4BY
Dear Mr Amicarelli:
I am a writer, blogger and activist dedicated to exposing the abuses of Scientology.
I read your recent article, How Scientology Changed the Legal Definition of Religion and wanted to contact you.
Your article came to my attention because the International Director of Scientology’s front group Stand League tweeted about it on social media.
First, I find it interesting that you neglect to mention that Eric Roux, one of the sources you cite, is a long time Scientologist. Surely as someone experienced in the law you understand how Roux cannot be considered an unbiased or credible contributor. Obviously Roux failed to mention that Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard himself turned Scientology into a religion purely for the tax exemptions.
In October 1953 Hubbard wrote a letter to Scientology Executive Helen O’Brien which says in part; “We don’t want a clinic. We want one in operation but not in name. Perhaps we could call it a Spiritual Guidance Center. Think up it’s name, will you. And we could put in nice desks and our boys in neat blue with diplomas on the walls…It is a problem of practical business. I await your reaction on the religion angle. In my opinion, we couldn’t get worse public opinion than we have had or have less customers with what we’ve got to sell. A religious charter would be necessary in Pennsylvania or New Jersey to make it stick. But I sure could make it stick.”
Citing Eric Roux as a legitimate source in this issue is tantamount to allowing the Fox to guard the henhouse. Of course he insists Scientology is a religion.
That this multi million dollar conglomerate has a tax exemption at all is incredible as the U. S. Supreme Court ruled multiple times Scientology was not entitled to it.
Scientology has written policy on creating good public image and lying is part and parcel in this endeavor.
Using Roux as a source in your article without full disclosure is disingenuous on your part.
According to an article on the FFWPU Mission Support website “Mr Roux, who was at the forefront of Scientology’s legal battles for many years, gave numerous examples of how the Church reacted to the law directly in court cases and of successful advocacy that resulted in changes in the law. Eric’s concluding statement: ‘As Scientology we always win in court… or at least we never lose!’”
Considering the lengths Scientology went to bully the IRS into the exemption, this statement is more an exclamation of defiance and threat than anything else.
As for the question of what constitutes a religion, while this is a difficult discussion, in some cases it might be better for one to consider what a religion is NOT.
Scientology is the only “church” that has written policies instructing its members concerning vengeance, abuse and deceit. No religion other than Scientology considers the destruction of family appropriate or spiritual. Scientology is the only one who finds it necessary to have in place policy for creating the illusion of good PR. Something that you, with your article, have now become part of.
True religions actually engage in charitable works. They have no need for hundreds of front groups that claim independence from their leadership.
Nor do they issue self congratulatory press releases covering their alleged humanitarian works which, upon a bit of sleuthing, turn out to be false more times than true.
One example amongst many can be seen from March 2020. Scientology front group Volunteer Ministers issued a statement that included the claim; “A team of Colombian Scientology Volunteer Ministers (VMs) has been providing relief to thousands of refugees who cross the border from Venezuela to Colombia each day. In a shelter established by a Catholic church in Cúcuta, VMs have helped prepare and distribute food to the refugees each day. On one day, five VMs served 13,000 meals while also caring for 2,000 children from nearby schools.”
Interestingly, the article leaves out any details about the Catholic church’s actual part in all of this humanitarianism. It’s mentioned in passing, almost as an afterthought as the focus is placed upon Scientology’s incredible achievement in succoring the masses. What Scientology dismissively refers to as a “shelter” is actually called Divine Providence House of Transit and since its opening June 5th, 2017 has, according to the Catholic Diocese of Cúcuta in Colombia provided one million meals to Venezuelan migrants affected by the humanitarian crisis in their country.
I reached out to Father José David Caña Pérez, the leader and coordinator of Divine Providence (aka “a shelter”) in the border city of Cúcuta referenced by the Volunteer Ministers asking him about the incredible claims made by Scientology.
He succinctly responded, “Hello, they were visiting the house of passage. They took a photo of the work. Nothing else. I don’t know if they helped in praying.”
This is not how a religion works.
Nor is this the only example of Scientology creating fake photo ops accompanying carefully edited stories to foster the illusion of good.
The reality of Scientology is that it is a multi million dollar conglomerate hiding behind the guise of religion in order to not only benefit from the tax exemption, but also to enable them to commit abuse, psychological terrorism, financial fraud, human trafficking and dangerously practice pseudo therapies that have resulted in death. This religion you have written about in a positive way conducted the largest infiltration of the U.S. government in our history with Operation Snow White. Scientology engaged in a campaign to frame Paulette Cooper for false terroristic threats in order to attempt to silence her.
Scientology’s hatred and intolerance for those who suffer from Mental Illnesses is far from spiritual.
Your current article is not the first time you have supported this cult.
New Religious Movements, COVID-19, and Media: The Case of Scientology, also by you, ends with; “Obviously, non-Scientologists cannot be expected to share this belief, but when the purposes and actions of Scientologists and members of other new religious movements are systematically misrepresented by some media, then a serious problem for religious liberty is created.”
I would proffer to you sir, that when organizations such as Scientology historically and consistently engage in egregiously un-religious, malicious, criminal acts, the defense and support of them is a serious problem for religious liberty. It positions a cult as equal to legitimate religions who seek the betterment of Man and of society. In doing so true religion, true spirituality is diminished and lowered to the secular and materialistic.
With mountains of proof to the contrary, the allegation that Scientology is being misrepresented in any way is deceitful.
By writing in praise of a cult that embraces the destructive, abusive doctrines Scientology teaches, you have become yet one more tool in Scientology’s arsenal with which they are able to further the illusion that they are a benign, humanitarian faith helping the world. Whether this is unwitting or not is open to conjecture.
I would hope that in the future, you carefully consider the groups you chose to praise and educate yourself on the broken lives left as so much detritus in the wake of Scientology’s pursuit of financial success. Such misplaced activism only achieves the furtherance of Scientology’s false public façade, leaving the cult free to continue their abuse and destruction in the name of financial success.
Sincerely,
Stefani A. Hutchison
Confront And Shatter 