For the twentieth consecutive year, the Church of Scientology International participated in the Organization for Security and Cooperation’s annual Human Dimension Implementation meeting in Warsaw, Poland. On 27 September 2016, a representative of the Church of Scientology International’s Human Rights Office addressed attendees during a working session on freedom of religion.
This year, the topic of the presentation was a landmark decision for the Church of Scientology recently handed down in Belgium.
On 11 March 2016, the landmark decision in the First Instance Court of Brussels dismissed all charges against the Church of Scientology of Belgium, the Church of Scientology International European Office for Public Affairs and Human Rights and eleven Scientologists who were current or former staff.
The Court determined that the very nature of the criminal proceedings violated defendants’ right to their presumption of innocence because the prosecution improperly placed the religion on trial and then presumed that all defendants were guilty based solely on their voluntary association with Scientology.
This groundbreaking decision has far-reaching implications beyond Belgium. It stands for the proposition and establishes the precedent that it offends fundamental human rights to put a religion, its doctrines and its beliefs on trial and presume that anyone who chooses to follow that religion is somehow guilty of a crime. As such, it is one of the most significant judgments on religious freedom decided in Belgium.
You can see the written presentation here and a video clip of the presentation below.
