A British teenager is facing prosecution for calling the Church of Scientology a ‘cult’. The 15 year old was served a summons by the City of London police when he took part in a peaceful protest outside Scientology’s headquarters in London.

Officers confiscated a placard with the word “cult” on it from the youth, and a case file has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service. A spokeswoman for the police said:

City of London police had received complaints about demonstrators using the words ‘cult’ and ‘Scientology kills’ during protests against the Church of Scientology. Following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service some demonstrators were warned verbally and in writing that their signs breached section five of the Public Order Act. One demonstrator continued to display a placard despite police warnings and was reported for an offence under section five. A file on the case will go to the CPS. (The Guardian)

The teenager has posted for advice on the Enturbulation forums. The best response to date has been:

As it’s a criminal charge, the standard of proof is “beyond all reasonable doubt”. This means:
a) Police need to prove use of word cult is threatening, abusive or insulting. […] Such a determination would I think be for a jury to decide, and they would need to take context into account. A considerable part of that context is that Scientology is a cult - just consult a dictionary. It’s not the same to call Scientology a cult, as it would be calling say, a traditional religion a cult.

Not allowing context to be considered would result in the ridiculous situation of not being allowed to call a spade a spade. Scientology is a cult. It’s not insulting to call it one. It’s a statement of fact, and a necessary and well intentioned warning to the easily lead.

b) That such use is intentional.
As I mention, it’s up to the prosecution to prove that the use of the term “Cult” is intended to insult. For a criminal conviction, proof needs to be “beyond all reasonable doubt”. This is a conclusion so far beyond the boundaries of the available facts, that I am well hopeful you’ll get this thrown out of court inside 5 minutes. On the basis of probabilities, you can argue the use was well intended.

[…]Case dismissed, imo. Of course, legal history is full of cases that should have been won, but for bad luck or just bad representation. Make sure to get the best legal defense you can afford. [somnombulist]

The market is opening at 25% chance of conviction.

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