Cyril Ronald Vosper (7 June 1935 – 4 May 2004) was an

anti-cult The anti-cult movement (abbreviated ACM, and also known as the countercult movement) consists of various governmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals that seek to raise awareness of cults, uncover coercive practices used to a ...

leader, former

Scientologist Scientology is a set of beliefs and practices invented by American author L. Ron Hubbard, and an associated movement. It has been variously defined as a cult, a Scientology as a business, business, or a new religious movement. The most recent ...

and later a critic of Scientology,

deprogrammer Deprogramming is a controversial tactic that attempts to help someone who has "strongly held convictions," often coming from cults or New Religious Movements (NRM). Deprogramming aims to assist a person who holds a controversial or restrictive be ...

, and spokesperson on

men's health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...

. He wrote '' The Mind Benders'', which was the first book on Scientology to be written by an ex-member, and the first critical book on Scientology to be published (narrowly beating '' Inside Scientology'' by Robert Kaufman).

Biography

Vosper was born in 1935 in Hounslow, Middlesex (now part of

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

) and lived his early life in Britain. He joined the

Hubbard Association of Scientologists International The Hubbard Association of Scientologists (HAS) was the original corporation founded in 1952 by L. Ron Hubbard that managed all Scientology organizations. The HAS evolved from the Office of L. Ron Hubbard located in Phoenix, Arizona. It was re-inc ...

(the overseas arm of the

Church of Scientology The Church of Scientology is a group of interconnected corporate entities and other organizations devoted to the practice, administration and dissemination of Scientology, which is variously defined as a cult, a scientology as a business, bu ...

) in 1954 at 19. He soon became a Scientology

auditor An auditor is a person or a firm appointed by a company to execute an audit.Practical Auditing, Kul Narsingh Shrestha, 2012, Nabin Prakashan, Nepal To act as an auditor, a person should be certified by the regulatory authority of accounting and au ...

.Vosper, Cyril. ''The Mind Benders''.

Neville Spearman Neville Spearman Armstrong (20 October 1913 – September 2008) was a British soldier, literary agent, and publisher. In the 1940s and early 1950s he was in partnerships with others, then from 1955 he operated his own publishing company called Ne ...

, 1971 In 1956, he was personally cited by

L. Ron Hubbard Lafayette Ronald Hubbard (March 13, 1911 – January 24, 1986) was an American author, primarily of science fiction and fantasy stories, who is best known for having founded the Church of Scientology. In 1950, Hubbard authored '' Dianeti ...

for his "test work and the wonderful results

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copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...

and

breach of confidence The tort A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are ...

but its case was rejected by the courts. At one stage in the litigation, a High Court judge was reported as saying of applications by the Church that Vosper and a newspaper editor be committed to prison for

contempt of court Contempt of court, often referred to simply as "contempt", is the crime of being disobedient to or disrespectful toward a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the cour ...

, that these actions were deliberately taken "to try to stifle any criticism or inquiry into their he Church of Scientology'saffairs". The Church was permitted to appeal the case but the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

rejected the Church's appeal, finding "

fair dealing Fair dealing is a limitation and exception to the exclusive rights granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. Fair dealing is found in many of the common law jurisdictions of the Commonwealth of Nations. Fair dealing is an en ...

in ''The Mind Benders'' in criticising scientology and that it was in the public interest to investigate and disclose." Following the outcome of the case, Vosper asserted that he had been subjected to "dirty tricks" carried out by the Church. According to him, a copy of his manuscript disappeared from his lodgings and, while on holiday in Spain, he was questioned by the police when they opened a parcel addressed to the place in which he was staying, containing obscene caricatures of the Spanish dictator

General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

. Vosper subsequently became a

, working to extract individuals from groups he considered to be

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...

s. In November 1987, while a committee member of the British

group Family, Action, Information, Rescue (FAIR), he was convicted in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

on charges of

false imprisonment False imprisonment or unlawful imprisonment occurs when a person intentionally restricts another person’s movement within any area without legal authority, justification, or the restrained person's permission. Actual physical restraint is ...

and causing bodily harm to German Scientologist Barbara Schwarz in the course of a deprogramming attempt. He received a five-month suspended sentence.''The Guardian'' (London), December 30, 1987. Title: "UK News In Brief: Britons convicted of kidnapping." Full text: "Two Britons were yesterday convicted by a Munich court on charges of false imprisonment and causing bodily harm. Cyril Vosper, aged 52, and John Mathewson, aged 25, were stated to have held 32 year old Barbara Schwarz against her will for 12 hours in an attempt to persuade her to abandon her religion. Vosper received a five month suspended sentence and Mathewson a three month suspended sentence."

References

Additional sources

*Cyril Vosper, ''The Mind-benders: Scientology'', Mayflower (April 19, 1973), trade paperback, 176 pages, ; hardcover, Neville Spearman Ltd (September 9, 1971), 190 pages,
Warrior Against Sect And Prostate Cancer
(obituary, ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 12 May 2004)

External links

Researching New Religious Movements: Responses and Redefinitions by Elisabeth Arweck, p. 114
(required Google login) {{DEFAULTSORT:Vosper, Cyril 1935 births 2004 deaths British expatriates in Australia British people convicted of kidnapping British whistleblowers Critics of Scientology Deaths from cancer in Victoria (Australia) Deprogrammers Exit counselors Former members of new religious movements Former Scientologists