Australian senator wants Scientology investigated

An elected official in Australia has called for a criminal investigation into the Church of Scientology there, Australian news organizations say.

In a speech this week to the Australian Parliament, Independent Sen. Nick Xenophon said he has letters from former members of the church, detailing abuses such as false imprisonment, physical violence and blackmail, according to a report on the Australian Broadcast Co.'s Web site.

"These victims of Scientology claim it is an abusive manipulative and violent organization," he said, according to the Australian network. He said he gave the letters to police and called for a Senate investigation into the religion's tax-exempt status.

Police said they have received the letters and will determine if an investigation is warranted.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd described Xenophon's statements as "grave allegations" and said, "many people in Australia have real concerns about Scientology."

He added: "I share some of those concerns. Let us proceed carefully and look carefully at the material he has provided before we make a decision on further parliamentary action."

The church called Xenophon's statements "an outrageous abuse of parliamentary privilege from a senator who would not even meet with church representatives several months ago to discuss his concerns.''

His attempt to "marginalize" the church "violates freedom of speech and the right to religious beliefs,'' a Scientology statement said.

In his speech, Xenophon cited a recent series of reports by the St. Petersburg Times in which former longtime staff members spoke out about their experiences at the highest levels of the church.

The former staffers said they and others were physically attacked by Scientology leader David Miscavige. They also described abusive punishments, extensive efforts to control staff who wanted to leave and a church intelligence operation that went to great lengths to protect Scientology and its secrets.

The church decried the allegations as lies by bitter apostates and accused the newspaper of engaging in tabloid journalism.