Update: Yahoo! News has updated their page with an interview with the Village Voice and a statement by the Church of Scientology.
Aleksa Paris says that she was imprisoned on the Scientology cruise ship “Freewinds” for 12 years. She claims that the leader of all things Scientology, David Miscavige, sent her to the ship so that her family would not take her out of the organization, when she was 18. While on the ship, she says she was forced to work in the engine room and was not allowed to leave the ship without an escort.
Image by Echo_29 via Flickr
According to The Sideshow:
“I was basically hauled in and told that my mum had attacked the church and that I needed to disconnect from her because she was suppressive,” she said. “He decided the ship, and I found out two hours before my plane left, I was woken up in the morning and I was sent to the ship for ‘two weeks.’ “
The Church of Scientology denies the claims and threatened Lateline, who conducted an interview with Paris, with legal action for breaching confidentiality between Paris and the church. The Church of Scientology released a statement regarding the situation:
She certainly wasn’t ‘forced’ to be there. She was also never forced to perform labor in the engine room,” the statement said. “The Freewinds is a wonderful place, as even Valeska said on numerous occasions. Her allegation that she could only leave the ship with an escort is totally false.
The Lateline report can be seen here:
Via: Yahoo! News – The Sideshow
