Editing Scientology controversies (section)

=== Litigation against critics ===

In the past, many critics of Scientology have claimed they were harassed by [[frivolous litigation|frivolous]] and [[vexatious litigation|vexatious]] lawsuits, including journalists [[Paulette Cooper]] and [[Richard Behar]]; free-speech advocates [[Karin Spaink]], [[David S. Touretzky]], [[Keith Henson]] and [[Grady Ward]]; and former Scientology members [[Cyril Vosper]], [[Lawrence Wollersheim]], [[Jon Atack]], [[Gerry Armstrong (activist)|Gerry Armstrong]], [[Steven Fishman]], [[Dennis Erlich]], [[Arnie Lerma]], and [[Bonnie Woods]].

[[Paulette Cooper]] was falsely accused of felony charges as she had been framed by the Church of Scientology's [[Guardian's Office]]. Furthermore, her personal life had been intruded upon by Scientologists who had attempted to kill her and/or draw her to suicide in a covert plan known as [[Operation Freakout]] brought to light after FBI investigations into other matters (See [[Operation Snow White]]).{{r|sptimes1979}}

A prominent example of litigation of its critics is the Church of Scientology's $416 million [[libel]] lawsuit [[s:Church of Scientology v. Behar]] against [[Time Warner]] as a result of their publication of a highly critical magazine article "[[The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power]]" by [[Richard Behar]]. A public campaign by the Church of Scientology accordingly ensued in an attempt to defame this Time Magazine publication. (See [[Thriving cult of greed and power#Post-publication|Church of Scientology's response]])

Gareth Alan Cales was harassed by the Church of Scientology, including false charges against him and his friends.<ref>{{cite web |author=Tasha Paradise |url=http://laist.com/2008/03/23/church_of_scien.php |title=Church of Scientology Strikes Back – Anonymous Responds |publisher=LAist |date=2008-03-23 |access-date=2012-09-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602033933/http://laist.com/2008/03/23/church_of_scien.php |archive-date=2012-06-02 }}</ref>

{{blockquote|The purpose of the suit is to harass and discourage rather than to win.

The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway, well knowing that he is not authorized, will generally be sufficient to cause his professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly.|L. Ron Hubbard|A Manual on the
Dissemination of Material, 1955}}

Similarly, the Church of Scientology's legal battle with [[Gerry Armstrong (activist)|Gerry Armstrong]] in ''[[Church of Scientology v. Gerald Armstrong]]'' spanned two decades and involved a $10 million claim against Armstrong.<ref>[[s:Church of Scientology v. Armstrong|WikiSource – Church of Scientology v. Armstrong]] [[s:Church of Scientology International v. Superior Court|WikiSource – Church of Scientology v. Superior Court]]</ref>