Fines Against Church of Scientology Upheld By French Court

AP reports that in France yesterday, an appeals court upheld a lower court's fraud conviction of the Church of Scientology that had been charged with pressuring members to pay large amounts for questionable remedies. The court upheld the fines imposed by the lower court--  the equivalent of $530,000 for the church and $261,900 for its bookstore. At the trial court level, prosecutors lost their bid to have the church dissolved or closed down in France which does not consider Scientology to be a legitimate religion. (See prior posting.)