2003 Leipzig Human Rights Award
of the
European-American Citizens Committee for
Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA
(originally the "2000 Alternative
Charlemagne
Award")
Andreas Heldal-Lund receives the Human Rights Award of the European-
American
Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA
The European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and
Religious Freedom
in the USA is involved in human rights and religious freedom in the USA
and worldwide,
and is engaged in the discussion in particular about new totalitarian
organizations.
In doing so it lets itself be guided by the stance taken by 17 million
Americans
in 1950 when they signed a pledge to the Berlin
Liberty Bell:
"I believe in the sacredness and dignity of the individual. I
believe
that all men derive the right to freedom equally from God. I pledge to
resist
aggression and tyranny wherever they appear on earth."
We are dismayed that, for the last few years, the Scientology
Organization
(SO) has managed to exert its influence in US foreign politics. The SO,
responsible
for the 17 days of anguish immediately preceding the death of Lisa
McPherson (USA), for the financial ruin of the Aigner
family (Germany) and for the tragic death of Patrice
Vic (France), tries to inflict damage upon the European-American
friendship
for which we have all been working so hard in the past decades. As
European friends
of the United States of America and or as US citizens, we are concerned
about
the attacks by the Scientology organization on the lives and human dignity
of
not only its own members, but also of its critics.
2003 Human Rights Award for
Mr. Andreas Heldal-Lund, Norway
In Leipzig, the city of the East German civil rights movement,
we will bestow the Human Rights Award of the European-American Citizens
Rights
Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA to Mr. Andreas
Heldal-Lund.
Mr. Heldal-Lund is the fourth recipient of the Leipzig Award, which
has been
given each year to individuals who have made contributed to the bringing
about
human rights reforms in totalitarian cults that operate from the USA.
Previous Leipzig Award recipients have been
Robert
Minton, American retired banker and civil rights activist; Dr.
Norbert Bluem, former German Federal Minister of Labor; and Alain
Vivien, then President of the Mission Interministerielle pour la Lutte
Contre
les Sectes for the Prime Minister of the Republic of France (MILS).
Mr. Heldal-Lund is an Information Technology professional and free
speech proponent
who created and maintains the most famous Internet site in the world --
Operation
Clambake http://www.xenu.net/ -- that
exposes
and opposes the fraud and human rights violations of the US-based
Scientology
organization.
Scientology has attacked Mr. Heldal-Lund and his Internet Service
Providers
with lawyer threat letters and a black propaganda campaign, and caused a
succession
of ISPs to terminate his service.
In February this year, bowing to pressure from Scientology lawyers
employing
the US law called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the widely
used
Internet search engine Google removed links to Operation Clambake from its
directory.
But Mr. Heldal-Lund held his ground, contending that Scientology
withholds
important information about its teachings that he was making available,
and that
people perhaps would not join the cult if the full information was
accessible.
Free speech advocates around the world rushed to his defense, mounted
an Internet
and print media campaign, and forced Google to put Clambake back into its
search
engine.
During his years of activism against Scientology human rights abuses,
in addition
to his webmaster work, Mr. Heldal-Lund has given talks to various groups,
generated
a tremendous quantity of excellent news stories, and been a respected and
valuable
contributor to the Internet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology.
To this day, Heldal-Lund has not let himself be intimidated into
silence. In
November 2002 his "Operation Clambake" celebrated six full years
of
operation, publishing the truth about Scientology.
Although he has been a target of Scientology legal and extralegal
threats,
and black PR throughout these years, Mr. Heldal-Lund has stayed light
hearted,
kept his sense of humor, and sustained his desire to help the cult's
victims.
The EEAC echoes Mr. Heldal-Lund's words from Operation Clambake:
"People should be free to believe whatever they want, including
Scientology.
What I have against [the organization] is
— its deceitfulness,
— its lack of compassion for its members (especially the hard-
working
staff),
— its aggressive hard sell,
— its arrogance,
— its attack on free speech,
— its litigiousness,
— its harassment of its critics,
— its lack of concern for families,
— its gross neglect and abuse of children."
With this distinction for Andreas Heldal-Lund, this Committee would
also like
to express support for all politicians on either side of the Atlantic for
their
efforts to put a stop to the human rights violations committed by the
Scientology
organization in both Europe and in the USA.
The Committee:
- Gerry Armstrong, British Columbia, Canada, Writer
- Prof. Claire Champollion, Paris, France, Linguist, Researcher and Author
- Joe Cisar, M.S., Cleveland, Ohio, Vietnam Veteran, Journalist
- Prof. Alexander Dvorkin, Moscow, Russia, Director of the St. Irenaeus-of-Lyon-Center
- Rev. Thomas Gandow, Berlin, Germany, Publisher of Berliner Dialog
- Mike Garde, Dublin, Ireland, Dialogue Ireland
- Roger Gonnet, Paris, France, Author
- Friedrich Griess, Vienna, Austria, Engineer, Press Spokesman of Gesellschaft
gegen Kultgefahren Österreich
- Birgitta Harrington, Accountant, Helsingborg, Sweden
- Tilman Hausherr, Berlin, Germany, Software Developer
- Ursula MacKenzie, Retiree, London, United Kingdom
- Solveig Prass, Leipzig, Germany, Business Manager EBI Leipzig
- Prof. Johannes Aagaard, Aarhus, Denmark, President of the Dialog Center International
(DCI) ]
Add your congratulations here.
Tabula Gratulatoria:
With our names we support the presentation of the Leipzig Human Rights Award by the
European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious
Freedom in the USA to Norwegian citizen Andreas Heldal-Lund and cordially
congratulate him.
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Jens Ackermann, independent construction, Germany
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Thomson Allan, administrator, Scotland
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Ken Amick, founder CTO T3i, USA
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Christian Ansorge, technician, Germany
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Kim Baker, Programme Executive, South Africa
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Myles Barchas , business owner, USA
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Claudia Bartels, scholar, Germany
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Rüdiger Bartels, artist, Germany
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Sören Bartsch, religion teacher, Germany
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Sven Bartschat, salesman, Germany
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Graham Berry, attorney at law, USA
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Jutta Birlenberg, retiree, Germany
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Mary Ann Bosnos, musician, teacher, USA
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Klaus Butschies, clerk, Germany
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Ida Camburn, retiree, USA
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Ingolf Christiansen, Representative for worldview affairs in the Evangelical-Lutheran state church of Hannover, Germany
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Tory Christman, Marketing/Sales, USA
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Elizabeth Ann Cox, Digital Librarian/DBA, USA
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Ingrid Dietrich, clergyman, Germany
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Volkmar Dietrich, musician, Germany
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Torsten Döring, automobile salesman, Germany
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Enrico Dörl, motor vehicle mechanic, Germany
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Katharina Doyé, studies director, Germany
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Jeta Eggers Info analyst (IT), The Netherlands
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Vera Ehrhardt, nurse, Germany
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Heidi El Haci, saleswoman, Germany
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Harald Fagerhus, Secretary of the Norwegian Society of Heathens, Norway
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Tobias Fleck, electronic technician and student, Germany
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Jonas Flygare, employee, Sweden
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Charlotte Fröling, receptionist, Sweden
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Ute Gandow, minister's wife, Berlin, Germany
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Oliver Ganz, contractor, Germany
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Christa Gerlach, bank clerk, Germany
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Doreen Gerlach, bank clerk, Germany
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Uwe Gerlach, glazier, Germany
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Lisa Gibson, vocalist, USA
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Peter Golembe, editor, USA
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Frank Golmann, employee, Germany
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Bartolomej Gooz, General secretary, Slovakia
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Mikael Göransson, managing director, Sweden
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Elke Gorf, Aufklärungsgruppe Krokodil, Weinstadt, Germany
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Barbara Graham, Digital Animator, USA
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Thomas Grüge, motor vehicle mechanic, Germany
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Reverend Thomas Günzel, Leipzig, Germany
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Hans-Michael Hanert, Ev. Kirchengemeinde und Ökumenische Studentenarbeit Frankfurt(O), Germany
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Roland Hartig, editor Lichtblick-Newsletter, Germany
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Anton Hein, Christian Apologist, the Netherlands
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Ingo Heinemann, attorney, chairman AGPF, Germany
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Keith Henson, refugee from Scientology, Canada
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Ralph Hofmann, Student, Germany
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Ilse Hruby, author, Austria
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Ines Ihring, dental assistant, Germany
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Vesna Izakovic, M.Phil., retiree, Zagreb-Croatia
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Jonny Jacobsen, journalist, France
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Thomas Johansson, Sales, Sweden
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Rod Keller, USA
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Marianne Kestler, online editor/journalist, Germany
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Haco Klöß, Evangelical minister, Germany
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Sascha Konztabel, carpenter, Germany
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Stephanie Krumbein, legal assistant, Germany
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Michael Kühn, primary school teacher, Germany
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Andrea Kuepker, family counseling and information, Germany
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Arnaldo Lerma, design engineer, USA
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Mathias Lerche, salesman, Germany
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Caroline Letkeman, web designer, Canada/Germany
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Aurora Lindström, student, Sweden
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Christer Lindstrom, CEO, Sweden
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Renata Linne, translator, Germany
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Daniel Lorenz, motor vehicle mechanic, Germany
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Arel Lucas, archivist, USA/Canada
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Cyril Malka, psychoanalyst, France
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Elvira Martin, nutrition expert, Germany
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X. Martin-Dupont, France
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Aniara Martinsson, student of physiotherapy, Sweden
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Heiko Mehlgarten, mechanic, Germany
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Barbara Mehlgarten, mechanic, Germany
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Sabine Mierisch, journalist, Germany
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Doris Müller, social worker (grad.), Germany
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Daniela Nowak, saleswoman, Germany
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Melanie Oßwald, member of the Germany Bundestag(CSU),
member of the Committee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Help of the German Bundestag
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Tom Padgett, hotelier, USA
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Karin Paetow-Froese, chairman of the "Arbeitskreis Sekten e.V." Herford,
Herford, Germany
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Catarina Pamnell, Student, Sweden
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Viola Phillipp, employee, Germany
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Mark Plummer, writer, USA
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Christoph Polster, clergy, Germany
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Dorothee Rammler, social scholar, Germany
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Roland Rashleigh-Berry, computer programmer, UK
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Henry Ratz, long-distance driver, Germany
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Jan-Pieter Rau, city commissioner for the City of Rheinsberg, Germany
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David Rice, writer, USA
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Simone Rockrohr, employee, Germany
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Matthias Roser, academic theologian, teacher, Germany
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Christian Rößler, sysopwannabe, Germany
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Gisela Rusch, Berlin, Germany
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Christine Sampson, educator, USA
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Reinhold Schaube, attorney, Germany
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Mandy Schlegel, saleswoman, Germany
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Prof. Dr. Thomas Schirrmacherm, theology professor, department chair, Germany
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Helmut Schmidt, Chairman EBI Berlin-Brandenburg, Germany
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Birgit Schneider, Religionslehrerin, Deutschland
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Mike Scholz, tool maker, Germany
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Sandra Scholz, hair stylist, Germany
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Christian W. G. Schultze, clergyman, Germany
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Walter Schütte, Journalist/Reporter, Munich, Germany
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Hella Schwarzbach, librarian, Germany
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Uwe Simon, electronic technician, Germany
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Sigbjørn Skjæret, IT Consultant, Norway
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Karin Spaink, writer, the Netherlands
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Anette Starke, hair stylist, Germany
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Franka Marie Stein, teacher, Germany
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Wolfgang Steiner, Austria
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Frank Stelling, motor vehicle mechanic, Germany
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Hannelore Stingl, journalist, Germany
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Rolf Stöckel, Unna, member of the German Bundestag (SPD);
Chairman of the federal Humanistic Association of Germany;
member of the Committee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Help of the German Bundestag
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Starshadow, artist, USA
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Nikolaos Stavrianidis, judge, Greece
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Jörg Stolzenberger, Aufklärungsgruppe Krokodil, Weinstadt, Germany
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Alexander Strange, student, USA
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Uwe Sydow, chemist, Germany
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Atilla Szatmari, employee, Germany
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Jim Szpajcher, technical manager, Canada
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Jim Talley, transportation, USA
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Reverend Willi Thaler, Innsbruck, Austria, Sect spokesman of the Evang. Church in Austria
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Wolfgang Tiefensee, Mayor, City of Leipzig, Germany
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Nicole Tischow, senior care professional, Germany
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Dr. Károly Tóth, Bishop emeritus, President of the Ecumenical Study Center, Budapest, Hungary
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Dave Touretzky, Research Scientist, USA
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Marilyn Traver, retired, USA
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Constanze Treuner, producer (drama), Germany
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Gunar Werner, mormonen.de founder and operator, Germany
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Peter Widmer, Switzerland
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Irmgard Wiesner, Switzerland
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Ake Wiman, Information Technology professional, Sweden
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Rainer Wittner, attorney, Germany
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Margarete Wittstock, retired, Berlin, Germany
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Skywalker Wolf, astrologer, Canada
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Rev. Dr. Richard Ziegert, Pfalz Evang. Church spokesman for weltanschauung issues, Ludwigshafen, Germany
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Marion Zimmermann, employee, Germany
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Udo Zimmermann, mechanic, Germany
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Roland Zwanziger, traffic professional, Germany
16 countries so far
The European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom
in the USA was organized to work toward achieving the following reforms:
- Freedom for everyone to speak about his experiences, knowledge and
thoughts
in any organization, church or cult, be it religious or not;
- Freedom for members of an organization, church or cult, religious or
not,
to leave that organization, without being detained, threatened or
persecuted;
- Freedom from fear of being confronted with material that a religious
or therapeutic
organization has obtained through religious or spiritual counseling; Such
material
should not be allowed to be used for publication, litigation, or
blackmail;
- Freedom from persecution through Copyright Laws; such laws should not
be
used against members who try to support their arguments by citing "
church
scriptures" or "spiritual literature" or other texts
associated
with the group;
- Full application of law enforcement to prosecute fraud, mental and
physical
abuse hidden behind the shield of "religion";
- Refusal / Withdrawal of tax exemptions for secretive organizations,
be they
religious or not. Full disclosure of past secret agreements with the IRS.
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