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Norway is considering prosecuting some Scientology practices. The Ministry of Health and Care Services said that the use of the "OCA" personality test in sales may constitute fraud as well as being part of a pattern of medical malpractice. State Secretary Rigmor Aasrud said that it might be easier to prosecute the medical malpractice than to bring a general fraud prosecution against the organization. Aasrud did not allude to any new legislation, but referred to existing laws which the local Scientology foundation may be breaking in their current practice.
The statement came after three undercover journalists took the test. Scientology staff said they should buy a course to solve psychological issues. One was advised to avoid conventional medical care; another was told that a course was the only thing which could help her, unless she wanted to start taking "chemicals". A Scientology spokesman blamed individual staff and disclaimed any responsibility on the part of the Scientology foundation. The online edition of the newspaper Verdens Gang posted hidden recordings of the sales sessions. Sales activity is called "regging" in Scientology, and is based on teaching of "hard sell" techniques.
The test has been notorious in Norway since the Norwegian Kaja Bordevich Ballo committed suicide on the same evening she received negative results on the Scientology personality test and was subjected to "hard sell" in a Scientology center in Nice, France in 2008. Her father Olav Gunnar Ballo, a medical doctor and member of the Norwegian parliament, wrote a book about her life which was published in April 2009. French authorities decided not to press charges in the Ballo case, although Scientology executive Jean-Jacques Mazier was convicted of manslaughter for the suicide of Patrice Vic in Lyon in 1996.
Olav Gunnar Ballo has studied the personality test and the hidden recordings from the undercover journalists, and characterized the use of the test as horrible. In the Norwegian press, he has asked if some practices of Scientology might be illegal due to the harm they cause to people. He also pointed out that one cannot punish statements by Scientologists which are just controversial or even plainly false, as that is allowed under free speech, but that activities which harm people should be punished.
Experts from The National Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (research fellow Anita Johanna Tørmoen and professor Lars Mehlum) criticized how the test was used in a sales setting and used as a pretext for making up unfounded assertions about the person; they would however not criticize the test itself. Ole Ingvald Iversen, an organizational psychologist in the Norwegian council for test certification (Sertifiseringsrådet for testbruk i Norge, STN), was however prepared to say that the test itself could be dangerous.
The Scientology personality test, called the "Oxford Capacity Test" is not certified, and has nothing to do with the University of Oxford, or any institution in Oxford. Scientology is not recognized as a religious community in Norway, but is registered as a non-profit foundation in the religious category.
Somewhat ironically, STN advises Det Norske Veritas (DNV) which both certifies personality tests in Norway and certifies the class compliance of the ship M/V Freewinds. The Freewinds is a Scientology owned ship where the highest training levels in Scientology are delivered. During an internal rebuild in 2008, the ship's owners failed to inform contractors about the presence of blue asbestos, exposing Polish workers from Nordica Engineering to the dangerous carcinogen, and triggering threats of lawsuits. Ship inspectors from the DNV noted some balancing and fire protection violations after the internal rebuild; the violations now appear to have been corrected. The asbestos danger has hopefully been properly abated now, but Scientologists who worked as volunteers on previous rebuilds should seek medical attention, especially if they could be observed hacking and chewing into a blue porous material.