Jason Beghe in Germany

Jason Beghe spoke at the invitation of the German government as part of a symposium on Scientology’s reach and impact in the United States.  As he did when he first sat down to do an interview with me a few months back, he speaks bluntly and delivers a powerful message.

My sincere thanks go out to Anonymous and AboutScientology for videotaping this speech as well as the equally powerful speeches by those other invited guests, attorney Graham Berry and Marc Headley.  Still to come is former high-level Scientologist Larry Brennan who has given some terrific radio interviews in the past year.

UPDATE:

Tony Ortega has written about this speech at the Village Voice and interviewed Jason about the trip to Germany:

Beghe says he spent five days in Germany, and was trailed by employees of Scientology, even in his flights to Europe. “Private eyes were watching us all the way,” he says. Scientology also deployed several attorneys and high-level spokespeople, including Tommy Davis, a former close friend of Beghe and the son of actress Anne Archer. The attorneys, Beghe says, tried to shut down the symposium, unsuccesfully.

“I did a lot of interviews, all over Europe. We met with government officials. Belgium has a lawsuit against Scientology. France has a suit. It’s getting shut down in Russia,” he says.

At the end of his presentation, Beghe suggested that what governments could do was warn the public about Scientology the way they do about tobacco. If cigarettes are harmful, you put a warning label on the box. Why shouldn’t government do the same for Scientology? he asked.

“The next day, they had put up a sign warning about the dangers of Scientology,” Beghe says. An official with Germany’s Interior Department told him that a sign had immediately been placed in front of a church in Berlin. “The speech really had an effect,” Beghe says.

Another terrific article from Tony Ortega!

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