Fair Game: roger gonnet sentenced today -- one Euro fine, 31 Jan 2003

roger gonnet <gonnet@antisectes.net>
I've been sentenced to-day (civil, not penal)
to ONE euro (against Panda software, Panda antivirus)
31 Jan 2003

I was sued for libel by Panda Sotware, the ex-scientology WISE *company* - whose patron Mikel Urizarbarrena is *still* a scientology silver meritorious patron (100000 dollars given just to get the title of silver meritorious) and old timer as a WISE member.

His company was quoted in WISE list 1999 as a WISE company member.

Berta Frias, spouse of Urizarbarrena, is also a scientology member and patron with her husband.

French patron of the company was also a scientologist.

The now-patron in France and some of his employees are also scientologists. A Class IX auditor that I know a lot since 28 years is working [very probably for WISE and RTC/OSA] as a consultant in this company in France.

The Org's officer of the WWide company Panda is also a scientologist and was charged in the Madrid trial, that was finally abandoned by the state because scientology has paid all the plaintiffs bit by bit, and gotten support from the Madrid US embassy.

Panda is most probably the largest scientology company in the world.

Indeed, it had about 800 people in the world some months ago. It sells anti-virus softwares.

The french patron of that company was also a scientology high-rank guy.

Apparently, he was either fired from Panda France after links between Panda and scientology were more known - in fact, Panda was fired from the Interior Minister before I disclosed the fact - either this guy Panda. He started immediately another representation of another antivirus foreign company (rumania or so).

__

The sentence was rendered to-day. The judges sentenced me to ONE euro civil damages, plus a participation of 750 euros to the attorney costs of the plaintiff.

I'll put the ruling online when I'll get it.

__

I was **not** sentenced penally (criminally in US).

===

Note: French laws about the press (libel, insults etc) are very old: 1881. They are still **quite formal**, and if french media are somewhat shy or too prudent to say something, that's also because of these laws.

Imagine : a journal here, which has spoken of a known french wine as a very often badly done product, was sued by more than 50 associations of that wine for libel, while it has said the truth about it.

It has been first sentenced to 130000 euros or so, just because of this deserved critic was done in a local magazine.

Other case: Lyon courts sentenced heavily for libel a guy who had said the pure truth about a company selling online in France, and which was mostly dishonest, not sending the orders, etc. --
http://www.antisectes.net

plus de 2000 textes, essais ou livres
critiques de la scientologie et d'autres sectes,en
français (and some in english)
Tél: 04 74 60 17 11