For immediate release
Source: Anonymous

Anonymous Protest Against Scientology

DUBLIN, Ireland - 10/02/2008 11:00:00 AM GMT - An enigmatic group of
Internet hackers and activists, calling themselves 'Anonymous', has
declared war on the Church of Scientology. The group's goals include
bringing an end to both the Church's restrictions of free speech, and
its violation of basic human rights, not only those of its members,
but also of its detractors. As part of this global mobilisation, the
Irish members of this group have pledged to take the campaign to the
streets of Dublin, in the form of a non-violent protest outside
Scientology's headquarters on Middle Abbey Street on Sunday, 10th
February 2008.

On January 16, 2008, a video clip of Tom Cruise extolling the virtues
of Scientology was leaked to the Internet. The Church claimed that
this violated copyright, and forced sites such as YouTube to remove
the embarrassing footage under threat of litigation. In response,
Anonymous has called on its members to rise up against the Church, in
what has come to be known as 'Project Chanology' Up til now, the
attacks have ranged from the leaking of important Scientology
documents, to prank phone calls and the faxing of black pages to waste
ink, to the use of a method called 'Google bombing', a manipulation of
the search engine which has resulted in the website being the first
result returned by Google when users type "dangerous cult". The Church
has appeared to be powerless to stop the guerilla action. The next
phase of the campaign will take it into the "real world" with a
worldwide wave of protesting outside Church properties on the tenth of
February.

The Church of Scientology is often accused of racketeering and fraud.
A number of court cases have been filed against the Church of
Scientology in its history, including USA vs. Mary Sue Hubbard, where
the wife of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard was convicted of
conspiracy against the US government. The Church has also been
implicated in several deaths due to neglect or malice, such as Lisa
McPherson's reported death in the custody of the Church. Controversial
policies it espouses include forced abortions and brainwashing. It has
historically attempted to silence and harass its opponents, as in
Operation Freakout, a church campaign targeting Paulette Cooper,
author of The Scandal of Scientology. Here in Ireland controversial
episodes have included psychological abuse and intimidation (Mary
Johnson) and the disappearance of members (e.g. Odhran Fortune, Tony
Phelan)

In a video posted on YouTube, which has now been watched more than 1.9
million times, the group says: "With the leakage of your latest
propaganda video into mainstream circulation, the extent of your
malign influence over those who have come to trust you as leaders has
been made clear to us."

"Anonymous has therefore decided that your organisation should be
destroyed, for the good of your followers, for the good of mankind,
and for our own enjoyment.

"We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget.
Expect us."

Anonymous has informed the Gardaí of its intention to protest
peacefully under provision 40.6.2 of the Constitution of the Republic
of Ireland.

10/02/2008
Assembly from 11:00
62/63 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1

http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10609174
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCbKv9yiLiQ
http://xenu.strangled.net.nyud.net

###

For more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview,
please e-mail Anonymous at anonymousireland@gmail.com