Health Ministry Asks Police to Shut Down Church of Scientology [VM's]
Cerridwen
Health Ministry Asks Police to Shut Down Church of Scientology in
Beslan
MosNews
A regional health ministry in southern Russia has asked the government
and law enforcement authorities to help close down the Church of
Scientology in Beslan, where hundreds of children died in a school
hostage taking last month.
The North Ossetian Health Ministry said the activities not only of
this church, but also other “sects” like Jehovah’s Witnesses, which is
offering humanitarian aid in the region, are dangerous, the Interfax
news agency reported.
In a letter sent to federal authorities, the ministry said that
various psychological tactics the groups use, including what it called
hypnosis, may be harmful not only for adults, but for children that
have already suffered severe mental shock.
Over 330 people — half of them children — died in the Beslan hostage
drama that began when armed militants stormed a school on the first
day of class.