Operation Clambake present:
Greek Case Introduction
This page contains material about the Cult of Scientology in Greece and the revelations about it, as a result of the three raids, Public Prosecutor Ioannis Angelis conducted at KEPHE in 1995. It will regularly be updated with documents, analyses and links.
KEPHE (Center of Applied Philosophy of Greece) is the Scientology organization in Greece. It was operating as non profit Association, since 1983, emphatically rejecting any claim of having anything to do with religion. Yes, this is exactly the opposite of what it does in the US, Europe and other countries.
The importance of "The Greek Case" is significant for a number of reasons. As far as I know, it is the first time that a Scientology organization is raided outside of the United States, documents are seized from its offices and the organization is ordered to shut down. It was only the FBI doing similar in the past.
The FBI-seized documents reveal the structure and operation of Scientology from the center, while the ones seized in Greece (what has started to be called as "The Greek Papers" or "The Greek Documents") significantly complete the picture and reveal the structure and operation of Scientology from the edges to the center. They give light to the coordination, policy and overall operation of a national Scientology organization with a headquarters - type one such as in Copenhagen or Los Angeles. It is amazing to see that even the way the Scientology heads prepare their attack plans and the structure of these plans, remained almost identical for at least two decades: from Paulette Cooper until the Prosecutor's raids.
The way everything started, is very characteristic. The raids and the investigations were not the product of a government-initiated effort to protect the Greek citizens. On the contrary. The state and the society at large, were in heavy darkness on Scientology. This was, largely, the result of specific actions from Scientology and from others on support of Scientology and other cults. These actions resulted in shutting down the Hellenic Intelligence Agency's department, responsible for monitoring cults and other groups, in order to determine if they were really operating as they were claiming or if they were having covert operations, using their demonstrated image as a cover to hide operations harmfull to the society and the national security. The equivalent department of the Hellenic Security Police was also shut down. According to the seized documents and the Prosecutor's Report, CIA shut down the Intelligence Agency's (EYP/KYP) department and Scientology, in cooperation with PANIFE (and its President, Mr. Takis Alexiou), did so for the Security Police department.
What remained was a Parents Organization (Panhellenic Parents Association - PEG) and the Synodic Commission on Cults and Parareligions of the Hellenic Orthodox Church, headed by the late father Anthony Alevizopoulos. He was the assigned person from the Orthodox Church to scientifically (theologically and socially) review the books, leaflets, practices, etc of cults and determine if they are incompatible with the Christian Orthodox faith and way of life (as a result of demands from beleivers). It was not a "personal uncontrolled crusade" as Scientology accused him for, but an official spiritual and community service (demanded by beleivers), which eventually turned out to be national service as well, since no state entity existed anymore to protect Greeks from Scientology and other cults. The fact that this Synodic Committee was the only official body in Greece to resist the Scientology corrosion of the Greek society and national security, resulted in a war against father Anthony. He attracted the Dead Agenting defamation fires of Scientology.
In this situation of non existent state entities, to get help from, some parents of KEPHE members decided to take the situation in their hands. Two of them went into KEPHE offices (at 200 Patission str) and created a mess there, demanding that Scientology stop exercising control over their child. They were accompanied by people of TELETORA TV, who were recording everything. TELETORA broadcasted the event and it was published as well, in their ELEFTHERI ORA newspaper.
The parents caught Scientology by surprise. Scientology's decade old experience of reactions from parents, had not allowed them to foresee this. Scientology was caught on sleep by this classically Greek reaction.
Now it was time for the authorities. Public Prosecutor Ioannis Angelis received the order, from the Supervisor of the Athens First Instance Court, to investigate the case. He conducted three raids in KEPHE offices on June 9, September 27 and November 6, 1995. He confiscated internal Scientology documents, member files and folders (PC - Pre Clear folders), computers and floppy disks, instruments (such as E-meters), etc. The computers and floppy disks were taken to the Security Police's Criminal Research Directorate, Laboratory Department, Graphology Laboratory and the text included in the hard and the floppy disks was printed (many disk files were encrypted).
Each page was sealed with a number indicating the order in which the page was printed (1st, 100th, 1000th, etc). Almost 2.500 pages were printed. To understand the volume of material kept in KEPHE, an indication would be to know the volume of documents the Prosecutor studied, in order to prepare his Report. Sources indicate, he studies over 20.000 pages of documents.
The first four pages of Prosecutor Angelis' Report are characteristic on the events up to the raids:
In order to "force" the State to investigate this case, the directly interested parties, that is the parents and others' of the individuals' (members) close environment, went to the TELETORA private TV Station, whose owner also publishes the daily newspaper "ELEFTHERI ORA". Therefore, this specific preliminary investigation was ordered in a self appointed way, after the front page title "Mr. Prosecutor, ask for the KEPHE file" of May 12, 1995 of the above newspaper. (Note: These are mentioned because they have connection to the way of facing ("handling" according to KEPHE) both of the editor and journalist of the newspaper and station, as well as the people who went to it, from the side of KEPHE, as will be mentioned in detail). It is also characteristic, that whichever public entities the parents went to (Police, etc), they met refusal to investigate the specific case, because "the fullishness of those involved in this Association, is not a criminal act to justify State intervention ...
Also, during the first investigation, 90 folders, out of the thousands existing, were seized, to substantiate the accusations (that is forced dispatch of people to work abroad, giving pharmaceutical substances, etc), as well as 55 computer floppy disks. From the study and processing of this material, the exercise of strange actions, for the Greek social reality, were detected, as will be described, so that a second investigation became necessary and conducted on September 27, 1995 during which two computers, found at the Office of Special Affairs, 48 floppy disks, as well as a number of folders, were seized.
On November 6,1995 a third investigation was conducted during which various folders and documents were seized. Some of these folders concerned those people who received courses in the Academy, as KEPHE says and others were about people unrelated to KEPHE functions, such as "Archbishop Seraphim", "DISTINGUISHED CLERGYMEN", "L HANDLING PGM", "OUT ETHICS of clergymen", "DSA BASIC", "DAGUNAKI VICTORIA", "ADFI", "DIAMADIDIS Spyros", "BOSNACOUDIS Anthony", "ARMS", "ENTHETA REPORTERS", "THE PRIEST", "PRO OC", "PENTELI ARM", "SKY FLASH - TELETORA", "P. PROSECUTOR", "AMERICAN CONSULTANT", "GREECE RAID", "ANTI ARM", "MP's NIKOLOPOULOS". Part of the folders, after studied, was put into guarrantee after the important, in the judgement of the signee, documents were removed, to become part of the case. Until today, 1.104 folders were put on guarrantee ad a large number remains to be studied. The two computers and the floppy disks were sent to the Criminal Research Directorate of the Hellenic Police from where almost 2.500 documents were produced. Almost all of these documents were in the English language and were the product of communication - through modem - of KEPHE and the relevant organizations abroadfrom which it is totaly depended, executing their orders to the last detail.
The fact that many of the computer documents were, for unknown reasons, encrypted, caused impression, initially. It must be noted that the documents and the rest of the seized evidence are the non important elements of the KEPHE organization - Association, since the important elements were sent abroad through post or by a special messenger and were kept in a place that was not detected by the investigation. This is clearly extracted by the No 0067 document, according to which OSA EU asks - among others - by Ilias Gratsias, person in charge here: a)to send a safe address in order for the data to be sent to him, b)to consider the "security" factor when he sends his reports and if necessary, change the real names in the documents.
The Prosecutor's Report ends like that:
[page 100] From all the above real facts, for which no doubt exists, since they are prooven through certain documents, it is clearly demonstrated, that the Civil Code Association under the name "Centre of Applied Philosophy of Greece (KEPHE)", based in Athens (200 Patission str.), not only has purposes different than those determined in its statutes, but also its actions, purpose and operation have become illegal and immoral and are against public order (article 105, per 3 A.K.). Therefore, this report must be conveyed, alongside the attached and other
[page 101] relevant documents, to the Attiki Prefecture, in order to receive consideration in the ongoing Administrative and financial control.
Similar administrative and financial control must be exersised in the dependent Associations EPANDI [=CCHR] and PANIFE, which also have (according to our judgment) different purposes than those determined in their statutes. It must be mentioned at that point, that the right to file relevant request to the court for dissolution of Civil Code Associations must also be in the hands of the Prosecuting Authority, at least in the case when after executing criminal investigation, it is prooven that the purpose and operation of the Association have become illegal and immoral and are against public order, according to article 105, per 3 A.K. This of course can be achieved through modifications of the Law, since the current judicial practice of civil courts precludes this right from the Public Prosecutor.
At the same time, however, the preliminary investigation to found the crimes, that this investigation is related to, must be continued, because the signee is transfered to the Halkida Prosecuting authority and the continuation of the investigation cannot be done by him (the signee). The relevant investigation must - according to our judgment - be continued by another Prosecutor and not by some department of the Greek Police (or a Magistrate) since, as mentioned before, there is no department relevant to the issue, after their shut down, as a result of the coordinated efforts of KEFE and PANIFE.
Finally, a copy of this Report must be sent to the Supreme Court Prosecutor to be informed on the issues of monitoring of political persons.
Athens 17-6-1996
The Prosecutor
IOANNIS ANGELIS