Silence dissenting voices

In this article, we continue to inform readers and analyze the terrorist and extremist methods used by anticult activists in Italy. Just like in previous articles on our website devoted to the activities of Alexander Dvorkin’s organization — RACIRS — the Italian network demonstrates exactly the same tactics, which indicates the systemic and coordinated nature of such practices on an international scale. You will see this for yourselves.

We’d like to remind you that the internet source www.liberocredo.org¹, which specialized in analysis of the Italian anticult movement, has now ceased its activity. Given the uniqueness and value of these materials, we have decided to use the web archives to publish them openly on our platform.

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Are the S.A.S. and Forum Anti-Sette abusing the justice system to prevent freedom of thought and expression for those who disagree with their activities?

For decades now, so-called “anticult” groups have been running a campaign to scare the public with imaginary “danger of cults.” But this hasn’t always been the case. In post-war Italy, up until the 1970s, there was almost no mention of cults.

The tipping point came in 1981 with ruling No. 69 of the Constitutional Court, which abolished the fascist-era crime of “mind enslavement.” This ruling was brought by a Roman judge as part of criminal proceedings against the Catholic priest Don Emilio Grasso, accused by several parents of brainwashing their minor children. Don Grasso, founder and driving force of the Redemptor Homis Community (www.missionerh.it), which he still manages, was acquitted and cleared of all charges.

This doesn’t mean that before that date there was no religious intolerance or persecution of  religious thought alternative to that of dominant Catholicism. But at the time, and for a long time, Italy had been devoutly Catholic, and, despite the republican constitution, the Roman Church acted as the state religion. That alone was enough to suppress so-called “sectarian deviations” and keep in their place (in the ghettos) those who dared to claim freedom of thought and religion.

To give an example of the “pre-anticult” climate being discussed, we’ll cite a quotation that appeared among the comments on Agenzia Radicale from the Jesuit periodical Civiltà Cattolica in 1887:

“[…] Judaism is no longer a religion. With the exception of a few old men and a few ignorant women, since Jewish women of religion know nothing, absolutely nothing; with these exceptions, Jews of any standing worship no other God than the god of money. Their [faith] is not a religious belief, it is a commercial society…”

That said, “anticult” activity was not common until the 1980s. It was after the Constitutional Court ruling that the first “anticult” associations were formed, immediately complaining about an alleged  “gap in the law” and demanding the reintroduction of the crime of mind enslavement.

Evolution of the Anticult Movement

However, in the 1980s and well into the 1990s, Italian “anticult” associations were still rather clumsy and lacking in presentability or credibility. There were only a few small groups such as ARIS Nazionale and ARIS Veneto, made up of fanatics with no specific expertise. These were people who had been responsible for crimes such as kidnapping and physical and psychological violence (see “Anticult Forum and Kidnapping -Part 1,”² “Part 2,”³ and “Part 3”⁴.) 

There was also the Catholic “anticult” group GRIS (Gruppo di Ricerca e Informazione sulle Sette, or Research and Information Group on Cults), spread throughout the country, but engaged almost exclusively, at least at the time, in opposing Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The rest of the “anticult” activity was marginal and limited to a few individuals who mostly referred to GRIS or ARIS.

This exposure does not aim to be a detailed or precise scientific dissertation. What is clear, however, is that toward the late 1990s and early 2000s, a number of anticult associations emerged that remain active to this day. These are small groups run by just a few individuals, most of them without any real qualifications. Yet with the rise of the Internet — and the willingness of certain unscrupulous journalists to give them attention — they quickly gained visibility.

As we will see, over the years these groups have developed and refined a new method, along with a more organized and harmful structure, to carry out their campaign against so-called “sects” and “cults.”

In the second half of the 1990s, representatives of anticult groups began to infiltrate state institutions and establish themselves as “consultants” to the Ministry of the Interior, certain branches of the police, and even the intelligence services.

There had been previous contacts between police forces and anticult groups, particularly with members of DIGOS, which at the time also dealt with so-called “sectarianism,” but these contacts were neither organized nor widespread throughout the country.

The New Course

The start of collaboration with the central authorities marked the beginning of a new course and a new depth of influence, culminating, on the eve of the 2000 jubilee, in the notorious report by the Ministry of the Interior on “Religious sects and new magical movements in Italy” (see “State Alarmism”⁵).

In 2006, with the creation of the S.A.S. (Squadra Anti-Sette, or Anti-Cult Squad, under the Ministry of the Interior), founded by then-Chief of Police Gianni de Gennaro (see “The Anti-Cult Squad”⁶ and “Anti-Cult Squad and the Constitution”⁷), the relationship between anticult activists and the State became formally institutionalized. Some representatives of these small anticult groups were even officially appointed by the S.A.S. as privileged contacts who will provide information on religious movements, indiscriminately labeled as “sects” and “cults.”

The main privileged contact was Catholic priest Aldo Bonaiuto, despite the conflict of interest. See “Anti-Cult Squad, anticult groups and brainwashing”⁸ and “SAS representatives.⁹”

With this new arrangement, the S.A.S. and the various anticult groups — beginning with Bonaiuto and the Forum Anti-Sette — put in place a perverse mechanism far more efficient than that of the groups that had operated without official endorsement in the 1980s and 1990s.

The support they received from the S.A.S., and, in fact, the very existence of such a police force (which we consider unconstitutional), greatly facilitated the anticultists’ access to the media and politicians, and consequently, some of the most aggressive judges. 

The S.A.S., anticult groups, journalists, politicians, and judges became the moving parts of a system that gathers raw, unverified information, transforms it into something with the appearance of official status, and then uses it to solicit complaints and anonymous reports, orchestrate media campaigns, instigate judicial proceedings, and at the same time intensify the pressure to reintroduce the crime of “mind enslavement” or “mental manipulation” into our legal system. This mechanism serves to crush the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms of belief, thought, and expression — the very rights the State’s servants involved should be protecting and upholding.

With such a system in place, even groups not formally cooperating with the S.A.S., and even individual citizens harboring hostility toward any movement that could arbitrarily be branded a “cult,” find fertile ground to join the anticult campaign.

To cite only one example among many, the case of the so-called “psycho-cult” Arkeon (analyzed in several posts on the blog pensieribanali.blogspot.it¹⁰) demonstrate how the above mechanism, set in motion by alarmist — misleading, and false information spread by anticult groups — can lead to demonization of any movement and the farcical trials based on nothing.

By now, there are countless cases that have cost taxpayers millions and millions of euros and caused incalculable harm and suffering to hundreds of people whose lives were ruined by the unpunished actions of these gossipmongers.

The Treatment of Dissidents

In the 1980s and 1990s, the anticult front was fragmented and quarrelsome, but these disputes resulted merely in disunity. The new arrangement of the anticult front, however, made possible something that would have been unthinkable before.

When “anticult” groups, and in particular the Forum Anti-sette linked to S.A.S., have disagreements with colleagues or former allies who are not aligned with the official strategy of this congregation, they do not limit themselves to arguing. They subject them to the same treatment they use against “cults”: they spread anonymous complaints, set the press against them, and then, with the help of the S.A.S. itself, file “rigged” lawsuits and instigate farcical legal proceedings against them.

Let’s take a closer look at how this method is used to silence dissenting voices.

A couple of weeks ago, Agenzia Radicale published an article titled “Persecution and Anticult Campaigns: An Interview with Raffaella Di Marzio.¹¹”

In the article/interview, Dr. Di Marzio reported that she had asked to be removed from the Association of Psychologists. She explained that she had come to this decision because of a series of malicious complaints filed against her since she had joined the Association three years earlier. As we will see later, these complaints came from members of the Forum Anti-sette. Instead of protecting her from such pretextual complaints, the Association accepted the accusations and forced her to repeatedly defend herself against clearly unfounded charges.

For much of the 1990s, Dr. Di Marzio had been a committed and active member of GRIS. Later, after distancing herself from GRIS due to conflicts, she developed contacts and collaborations with members of other anticult associations, including those now part of the Forum Anti-Sette.

Following several incidents, she realized that her idea of “research and study” was quite different from that of the associations in this field. She saw that the “study and research of cults or new religious movements” conducted by these so-called anticult groups always boiled down to demonizing such movements, systematically searching for and fabricating alarmist stories that could be used to generate sensationalist media coverage, promote largely unfounded legal actions, and thus push for the reintroduction of the crime of mind enslavement and/or mental manipulation.

In practice, Dr. Di Marzio uncovered the very mechanism we described earlier, and she did not  agree with it. She preferred to truly study the groups labeled as “cults,” to understand them, and to engage in dialogue. She came to this conviction, shifting away from an earlier, more extreme approach, after realizing that not all groups labeled as “cults” actually were such, and that all too often respectable spiritual and religious experiences were attacked without even being understood.

Her views and practices were (and still are) unwelcome to anticult associations, which categorically exclude dialogue or contact with groups they invariably brand as destructive, criminal, manipulative “cults” that must be eliminated.

For this “grave sin,” Dr. Di Marzio has faced anonymous complaints, lawsuits, disciplinary actions from the Association of Psychologists, and has been the target of attacks online and in the media.

In 2008, while conducting research on the Arkeon group, Dr. Di Marzio unwillingly found herself caught up in an investigation by the Bari Prosecutor’s Office against this movement, instigated by the CeSAP association, which had long been running an aggressive media campaign against Arkeon.

The case is well covered in a recent article by Di Marzio herself, published on the CESNUR website under the title “The Confessions of the ‘Monster in the Mirror’: Arkeon, the Anticult Associations, and the Association of Psychologists: A Personal Experience.¹²”

At that point, the mechanism of “eliminating dissidents and non-aligned individuals,” routinely carried out by the Forum Anti-Sette, swung into action. Gabriella Monaco, representative of the fictitious Committee of Psycho-Cult Victims sponsored by CeSAP, sent a fax to Bari Prosecutor Francesco Bretone denouncing Dr. Di Marzio. In it, she was labeled a “scholar” in quotation marks, accused of engaging in “alarming promotion of the Arkeon method,”  of being “close to Moccia” (the “guru” of the “cult”),  of carrying out “systematic discouragement of the victims,” and of causing “key testimonies to be neutralized and brought back into the fold” (into the “cult”).

The fax insinuated that Dr. Di Marzio was engaged in “tampering with witness testimony,” “obstructing justice,” colluding with the defendants, and in some way being part of the “cult” herself.

A Сorrupt System

S.A.S. and the Forum Anti-Sette created an efficient mechanism for silencing dissent:

1. Gathering unverified information about religious groups
2. Orchestrating “leaks” in the media
3. Pressuring politicians and judges
4. Lobbying for the reintroduction of the law on “mind enslavement”

Methods of Silencing Dissent

Anticultists use the same methods against their opponents as they do against “sects” and “cults”:

• Anonymous complaints
• Pressure through professional associations
• Instigation of legal proceedings

A striking example is the persecution of psychologist Raffaella Di Marzio, who dared to advocate dialogue with new religious movements. After leaving GRIS, she became the target of attacks from former colleagues, including defamatory complaints filed with her professional association.

Dear Dr. Bretone,

I am writing to inform you of what I believe to be a very serious incident that has occurred on the forum www.dimarzio.it. I had written to you about this previously, pointing out the worrying promotion of the Arkeon method by this “scholar” close to Moccia, who was even present at the February 9th meeting in Rome. On her forum, she systematically discourages victims, who are sometimes even expelled if they speak out critically.

Now, what we feared has happened: even key testimonies are being neutralized and brought back into the fold. S……. S……., the young man who appeared on the TV program Mi Manda Rai Tre and who also testified in the civil case before Judge Michele Salvatore about the frightful physical and psychological abuse he suffered, has been discouraged. He has written that he would like to “retract” his testimony, including with the authorities.

This occurred after he received messages that were shameful, to say the least, from Di Marzio and from Arkeon organizers and masters, in response to the account of his truly dramatic experience (he also spoke of the incitement to suicide perpetrated against him by his master, F……., during the seminars). These messages glossed over such content, while blatantly inducing feelings of guilt, inviting him “not to feel resentment or vengeance as that would destroy him, even before it destroyed his master.”

This woman, leveraging her position and her degree in psychology (she is not a psychologist and cannot practice that profession, but she fails to clarify this matter), continues to use this platform as if it were the official Arkeon website. This is after having allowed it to be repeatedly said on her forum that the investigators are conspiring against Moccia, and having said things of similar gravity herself. She goes so far as to suggest to victims that testifying to the truth is not a civic duty to help justice, but a symptom of a desire for revenge, which should be absolutely avoided. I would also point out that, on this subject of the “process” against the master, Arkeon victims are highly sensitive and manipulable. This is because the foundation of the method—and its effectiveness in creating a total sense of subservience—is based on unconditional reliance on the master: any criticism is a symptom of an unresolved “process” in their regard.

Indeed, just a few hours later, S…….’s message appears completely contradictory to his previous one. He speaks of not wanting to get into trouble (and who told him that telling the truth leads to trouble?), of not wanting to send people to prison because he has a self-destructive instinct that has led him to hurt himself, and that perhaps what happened to him is his fault (this had been written to him by B…….., an organizer and the wife of a top Arkeon master, M…….).

I know that Di Marzio privately contacts victims who write on her forum, despite knowing that a criminal investigation is underway and that one should therefore not interfere. I wonder if, in addition to the published messages which already appear to be gravely discouraging, S……. was contacted privately, by her or by the masters. His change is chilling; he seems frightened or torn apart by guilt. They are also contacting ……., another former master who posts on their forum and whom we reported some time ago to Inspector S……. after he had asked CESAP for help.

Is this not, perhaps, tampering with witness testimony? Can nothing be done to stop this obstruction of justice?

We are worried, Dr. T……. and I. Our lawyers are convinced that on March 31st in Ancona there will be an indictment, despite the filing of the order. If you add to this the fact that we are helplessly witnessing this effort to manipulate testimonies, you can well understand our state of mind. I do not know if it is possible for you to contact the Public Prosecutor who is in charge of the case, and I apologize in advance if my request seems inappropriate, but I ask you to understand our sense of anguish and discouragement.

Our legal proceedings are moving forward, and we do not know how we will pay the lawyers. I beg you to do everything possible to bring the truth to light so that we can protect ourselves. We have only done our duty to prevent other victims from falling into the clutches of those criminals; we cannot pay such a high price for this. I am attaching S…….’s latest post and wish to inform you that I can send you the messages I have only briefly mentioned.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

P.S. I am sending you a fax because my Internet is temporarily out of service. If you need to contact me urgently, you can find me at ……. or …….

Gabriella Monaco is a spawn of Dr. Tinelli, a de facto member of the Forum anti-sette and the sole representative of this so-called committee. This article¹³ and others in the series provide a detailed description of who she is.

Obviously, the party concerned, Dr. Di Marzio, was completely unaware of all these accusations and of the various similar reports that the members of CeSAP made to the investigating magistrate.

As a result of these anonymous accusations, Dr. Di Marzio was investigated for criminal conspiracy and her website was seized, only to be cleared almost three years later in March 2011.

COURT OF BARI

Office of the Judge for Preliminary Investigations

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

The Judge for Preliminary Investigations, Dr. Marco GUIDA,

having read the request for dismissal submitted by the Public Prosecutor;

having agreed with the arguments put forward in support of the same, given their undeniable consistency with the investigative findings and the absence of any logical flaws;

ORDERS

the dismissal of the proceedings

☑ for lack of grounds for the report of an offense;

☐ because the offense is extinguished by the statute of limitations;

☐ because the act is not considered a crime by law;

☐ because the perpetrators of the act remain unknown;

☐ because the evidence gathered is insufficient to support the charge at trial;

and orders the transmission of the case file to the Public Prosecutor.

☐ Confiscation and destruction of the items seized;

☐ Return to the rightful owner of the items seized;

☐ Confiscation of the items seized;

☐ Confiscation.

The Clerk’s Office is ordered to carry out the necessary formalities.

Bari, 24/2/11

The Judge for Preliminary Investigations

Dr. Marco GUIDA

The trial against Arkeon concluded on July 16, 2012, with a ruling that acquitted the defendants of all the charges portraying them as a “dangerous psycho-sect” (“psycho-cult”). The only conviction concerned the unlawful practice of psychology, which has nothing to do with the accusations of fraud, violence, undue influence, and abuse so eagerly promoted by the Forum anti-sette. The prosecution did not appeal the acquittals, and thus, in this regard, the judgment is final.

In light of this ruling, the accusations and anonymous complaints brought against Dr. Di Marzio in an attempt to silence her appear all the more unfounded and defamatory.

Dr. Di Marzio’s case is certainly not unique. Around the same time CeSAP was instigating the Bretone Prosecutor’s Office against Dr. Di Marzio, Dr. Tinelli pulled the same trick with another scholar of religious movements who did not adhere to the “sectarianizing” strategy against Arkeon imposed by the Forum Anti-sette and the S.A.S., namely Dr. Silvana Radoani.

In her case as well, Dr. Tinelli sent a “precautionary report” by fax to Prosecutor Francesco Bretone, naturally with a copy to the then-president of the Association of Psychologists of Puglia, Dr. Giuseppe Luigi Palma, and another to the president of the Association of Psychologists of Emilia Romagna, Dr. Manuela Colombari.

The whole document can be viewed and downloaded here¹⁴.

After this “precautionary report” (to protect whom and from what?) CeSAP continued its campaign of demolition by filing numerous other complaints against Dr. Radoani, as she herself reports and documents on the website radoani.ilcannocchiale.it.

The efforts of the “anti-sette” (“anti-cult”) activists to silence these dissenting voices were not limited to anonymous reports sent to Dr. Bretone or to complaints in general. In fact, while the investigations prompted by CeSAP’s reports were stagnating and Dr. Di Marzio’s website was under seizure, Dr. Tinelli of CeSAP was mocking the situation and spreading on the internet the false accusation that Dr. Di Marzio was “the guru in pectore of a sect” (“the shadow guru of the cult”).

[email protected]
July 1, 2010 20.35
<[email protected]>, “Alessandrini” <[email protected]>,
“ArisToscana”<[email protected]>, “Arisveneto”<[email protected]>
Re: Forum Infotdgeova Cancellation

Who knows what Maroni would say if he found out that one of the organizers of the conference (the only one in Italy :)))) is under investigation for criminal collusion and unlawful practice of a profession, as well as being the guru in pectore of a sect!!!!
Ahh, life! It doesn’t allow us to tell the truth!

Lorita

In this e-mail, Dr. Tinelli was referring to a conference of the ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) titled “New Cults and Sects in Society: Prevention, Information, Assistance,” held in Rome on September 18–19, 2010, in which Dr. Di Marzio was scheduled to participate. Achille Aveta, a supporter and collaborator of the Forum Anti-sette, had informed the Forum that the then–Minister of the Interior Roberto Maroni had been invited to the conference.

Subsequently, the Forum made sure to spread among politicians and journalists the claim that someone “under investigation for criminal collusion” would be speaking at the conference.

Nor was the anti-Di Marzio campaign limited to anonymous complaints and the dissemination of defamatory claims by e-mail. The nagging disruptive actions also included messages sent under false names by members of the Forum anti-sette to Dr. Di Marzio’s blog in order to counter what she wrote. The following was sent anonymously by Emanuela Fontana, vice president of ARIS Toscana, precisely at the moment when Dr. Di Marzio was acquitted by the Bari court.

March 8, 2011, 10:13 p.m. 

Confidential: now let’s see if Di Marzio publishes this and how she responds

From: [email protected] ([email protected])

To: <[email protected]>

Posted on Di Marzio’s blog

March 8, 2011

Dearest Dr. Di Marzio, I found your thesis, as well as some of the comments following your post, very disturbing.

But wanting to understand your thesis more clearly: does this link fall under what you mean by promoters of a “factory of terror” guilty of causing a false alarm?

http://www.viareggiointv.com/jml1_5/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=13709 

So you think there is a hidden conspiracy for the mass media to spread a problem that does not exist but is created by those who have every interest in it??

If I’m not mistaken, Dr. Santovecchi — besides being a former member who tells her story to the mass media in the video — also took part in the ICSA conference. Should she also be counted among those who spread “false alarms”? If your conclusions are correct, what evidence is there of this conspiracy? Please specify it.

And here is a message that was sent to the same blog, but this time using the email account of her daughter Elena.

From: [email protected] Sent: March 4, 2012, 1:01 p.m. To: [email protected]  Cc: “Maurizio Alessandrini” [email protected] , [email protected] , “ALDO VERDECCHIA GiuLeManiDaiBambini” [email protected], “SONIA Ghinelli” [email protected]

Subject: my comment sent to rdm and la 7

I haven’t discussed it with anyone outside the company either. Murgia asked me about cases, but since I didn’t have any, I told him to contact CeSAP or FAVIS. Anyway, I’d like to inform you that I wrote a comment to rdm, which is now awaiting publication… In the past, they didn’t publish one of my anonymous comments, but you can find a slightly modified version of it on La7’s blog. I used my daughter Elena’s email address. Do you think this one will be published? Bets are open… HAPPY SUNDAY, Manù http://blog.la7.it/intoccabili/?p=316 

Elena, March 4, 2012, at 12:22 p.m.

In the broadcast of Gli Intoccabili on February 29, Professor Di Marzio made statements about plagiarism and mental manipulation: “We do not have scientific tools to measure the degree of mind enslavement practiced on a person.” On what basis did she immediately follow this by stating: “There are various levels of mental manipulation:

1) tentative persuasion;
2) various intermediate levels;
3) maximum level”? 

If, according to Di Marzio, there is a minimum and maximum level of manipulation, how did she manage to establish it? And what are the consequences at the minimum and maximum levels? According to Di Marzio, what scientific and legislative tools were used to measure stalking? For example:
1. level: an intrusive person
2. various intermediate levels
3. persecution

Or were other scientific tools used? If so, which ones??

A year passed between the first and second messages, during which the “disruptive actions” continued unabated.

It should be noted that, in the second message, Emanuela Fontana reported, among other things, that she had been unable to provide “cases” to journalist David Murgia, host of the TV 2000 program “Vade Retro” (now suspended, we will return to this later). But how is that possible? ARIS Toscana, the Italian branch for the European FECRIS, which everywhere claims to “receive hundreds of reports from victims of sects,” had no “cases” to provide to a journalist who asked for them?

Let us return to the issue of silencing undesirable voices. We mentioned that in March 2011, Dr. Di Marzio was acquitted by the Court of Bari on the grounds that the charges brought against her by CeSAP were unfounded.

But a few days later, Dr. Tinelli of CeSAP “confidentially revealed” to the members of the Forum Anti-sette that she had been summoned by the Association of Psychologists of Lazio to “provide information on what happened regarding Raffaella Di Marzio.”

13-apr-2011 19.48

Subject: Re: Fw: closure of civil proceedings arkeon 

From: [email protected] ([email protected])

To: <[email protected]>, “AVETA Achille”<[email protected]>, “Assoc. Sos

Antiplagio Novara”<[email protected]>, “Assoc. ARIS

VENETO”<[email protected]>, “Assoc. ARIS TOSCANA” <[email protected]>,

<[email protected]>

Giorgio, I agree with you. Unfortunately, there is no end to human folly… just as there is no end to the desire to get ahead by making deals with the devil.

In complete confidence, I can reveal that the Lazio Association of Psychologists, the association to which Di Marzio belongs, has summoned me next month to provide information on what has happened regarding Raffaella Di Marzio. She joined the Association last year, after 20 years of studying for a degree in psychology and following an investigation against her by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Bari. Once again I have to take on the difficult role of a person informed about facts. I hope to always be a good match for the situation despite all the implications and various interpretations.

Of course, someone who claims that a fax from a victim of Arkeon was enough for a prosecutor to declare her under investigation… that person must really think they are talking to people who are incapable of reason or judgment. On the same basis, they claim that Arkeon is an anthropological-spiritual group, assuming that people do not understand the activities they see in the videos…

Well…

Lorita

With a high hypocrisy Dr. Tinelli states, “Once again I have to take on the difficult role of a person informed about facts.” A role she could have easily avoided, had she not been the one to file a complaint with the Lazio Association of Psychologists against Dr. Di Marzio on May 5, 2010.

It is worth noting that the Lazio Association never even informed Dr. Di Marzio of the measures being taken against her, yet it gave Dr. Tinelli the opportunity to supplement her complaint with information about the “Bari Prosecutor’s Office investigation” — even though, by the time of this “meeting,” all charges against Di Marzio had already been dropped.

The members of the Forum Anti-sette subsequently filed two more complaints against Dr. Di Marzio with the Lazio Association of Psychologists.

After Dr. Tinelli, Maurizio Alessandrini, president of FAVIS and privileged representative of S.A.S., also filed a complaint. Correspondence shows that he had special relations with the president of the National Association of Psychologists, Dr. Giuseppe Luigi Palma (previously president of the Apulia Association, which was a civil party in the trial against Arkeon).

From: [email protected]

Sent: November 20, 2011, 10:42 p.m.

To: “ARIS TOSCANA”<[email protected]>, “ARIS VENETO”<[email protected]>,

“Assoc. Cesap Tinelli”<[email protected]>, “ALDO VERDECCHIA

GiuleManiDaiBambini <[email protected]>

Cc:

Subject: R. Di Marzio: this is madness!  

In a few hours, the complaint to the Lazio Association of Psychologists will be sent by express mail with 1 day delivery, so it will arrive very quickly on the desk of the president, Dr. Palma.  

We’ll see if he still has so much time to devote to his current activity.  

Best regards,  
Maurizio  

Nov 21, 2011, 12:39 a.m. 

Subject: My COMPLAINT against psychologist Di Marzio is ready 

It will be sent tomorrow morning by express registered mail, one-day delivery, so it will very quickly be on the desk of the Lazio Association of Psychologists. 

I would really love to see the look on the face of the “lady of insults”… when she is summoned by the Association.

Good night,
Maurizio

From: [email protected]

Sent: November 21, 2011, 2:59 a.m.

To: “ALDO VERDECCHIA GiuLeManiDaiBambini”< [email protected] >, “ARIS

TOSCANA“< [email protected] >, ”ARIS VENETO“< [email protected] >, ”Assoc. Cesap Tinelli” < [email protected] >

Cc:

Subject: CONFIDENTIAL My COMPLAINT against psychologist Di Marzio is ready

THE COMPLAINT TO THE LAZIO ASSOCIATION OF PSYCHOLOGISTS IS IN MY NAME, SO IT IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL UNTIL I RECEIVE A RESPONSE FROM THE ASSOCIATION

Talk soon,

Maurizio

Alessandrini wrote in the conclusion of his complaint that the intent was to protect the so-called “victims of cults” from the ‘confusion’ created by the “repeated attitude of” Dr. Di Marzio. 

“In conclusion, this attitude, which she repeated over time and which is backed by some well-organized sectarian groups, is causing a lot of confusion and harm among victims of the so-called abusive cults, as well as among the civil parties in ongoing trials involving members of organizations considered sectarian. Dr. Di Marzio herself has become a point of reference for some of these groups, even taking on the role of witness for the defendants, despite being aware of the clear position taken by the Association to which she belongs against the defendants themselves, as evidenced in the records of criminal proceedings no. 6445/06 R.G.N.R. at the Bari Public Prosecutor’s Office. Also attached to this complaint is a DVD containing the speech by the President of the National Council of Psychologists, Dr. Giuseppe Luigi Palma,  during the television program ‘Mi manda Rai 3’ on October 13, 2006, which is also available at http://vimeo.com/17949005.

Finally, this continuous denigration of the work of our associations and, consequently, of the professionals who work from within and in collaboration with them, risks making our work of listening, supporting, and sheltering people increasingly difficult.

Rimini, November 21, 2011

Sincerely, Maurizio Alessandrini”

In reality, from the mocking tone of the emails quoted above, it is clear that the complaint was intended to silence Dr. di Marzio, not to protect anyone from alleged abuse.

A Coordinated Persecution Campaign

Whistleblowing, lawsuits, complaints, and disruptive actions are not simply spontaneous reactions from a group of intolerant “anticultists.” The most persecutory of these actions were the result of a coordinated and concerted effort on the part of S.A.S. leaders.

Since the establishment of S.A.S. on November 2, 2006, the Forum Anti-sette has maintained relations with the then-national director, Dr. Tiziana Terribile, who was later replaced by Dr. Maria Carla Bocchino.

On September 21, 2007, all representatives of the associations forming the Forum: Lorita Tinelli (CeSAP), Maurizio Alessandrini (FAVIS), Milena Bolgan and Mario Martini (ARIS Veneto), Mario Pierotti, Emanuela Fontana and Maria Pia Gardini (ARIS Toscana), participated in a “strategic” meeting with Dr. Maria Carla Bocchino at the headquarters of the S.A.S. in Rome to develop the operational strategy to be adopted. On that occasion, Alessandrini was appointed representative of the S.A.S. on behalf of Forum Anti-sette.

Alessandrini has been working in this role ever since. Here he is, in fact, informing the other members of the Forum Anti-sette in an “URGENT and CONFIDENTIAL” manner that he has “just finished a 25-minute phone call with the director of SAS, Dr. Maria Carla Bocchino,” with whom he discussed the “Di Marzio problem” and how to deal with it.

Maria Carla Bocchino

From: [email protected]

Sent: October 28, 2011, 5:12 p.m.

To: “ARIS TOSCANA”< [email protected] >, “ARIS VENETO”< [email protected] >,

“Assoc CeSAP”< [email protected] >, “Aldo Verdecchia Assoc.

GiuLeManiDaiBambi”< [email protected] >

Cc:

Subject: URGENT CONFIDENTIAL 

CONFIDENTIAL MESSAGE

I’ve just finished a 25-minute phone call with the SAS director, Dr. Maria Carla Bocchino. The conversation resulted in the following: 

A – A clear overall picture of the defamatory campaign involving all the Forum associations, which completes the circle with Di Marzio’s response to Fabio on her blog.

B – In order to initiate an investigation into anonymous, hidden websites, including and especially the Italian ones, we are advised to file a

COMPLAINT that covers the entire situation. In practice, this means transforming the INFORMATION REPORT letter already sent into a complaint to the police. This complaint must also include the latest defamation on the RDM Blog and any new defamatory content that we may uncover in the coming days.

C- The complaint should be submitted by the Forum to the Rimini Police — Mobile Squad, Dr. Franco Vendramino Bortot, SAS representative

D – Once the complaint is submitted, it should also be sent by email to the SAS manager.

The complaint does not entail any procedural obligations or burdens (courts)

I look forward to your response today.

Thank you all.

Maurizio

To ensure a guaranteed “start of the investigation”, Dr Bocchino advised him to file a complaint and address it to “Rimini Police – Mobile Squad, Dr. Franco Vendramino Bortot, SAS representative”, and then to “also sent by email to the SAS manager.”

Similar initiatives, as can be seen in the following email, had already been coordinated with Dr. Bocchino.

From: [email protected]

Date: 10/28/2011 11:23 p.m.

To: “ARIS TOSCANA”< [email protected] >, “ARIS VENETO”< [email protected] >, “Assoc

CeSAP”< [email protected] >

Subject: Supplementary note to the Forum REPORT x Senate and SAS

Dear all, This is the supplementary note that we would like to send tomorrow to the Senate and SAS Rome. Dr. Bocchino is already aware of this initiative.

We await your replies.

Maurizio and Sonia

The “supplementary note to the FORUM REPORT x Senate and SAS” that Maurizio Alessandrini and Sonia Ghinelli of FAVIS referred to can be found in the article “Anonymous Complaints”¹⁵.

In these other emails, the members of the Forum Anti-sette agreed on how the complaint coordinated with Dr. Bocchino should be worded in order to be “effective.”

From: [email protected]

Sent: October 29, 2011, 8:36 a.m.

To: < [email protected] >, “ARIS TOSCANA” < [email protected] >, “ARIS VENETO”< [email protected] >

Cc:

Subject: R: Supplementary note to the Forum REPORT x Senate and SAS  

That’s fine with me.   
Should we draft the complaint based on the same documents, or should we expand it to include the overall denigration and defamation carried out over these years by other affiliated parties as well?  

Lorita

From: [email protected]

Sent: November 3, 2011, 2:30 p.m.

To: “Lorita Tinelli”< [email protected] >

Cс: “Aldo Verdecchia Assoc. GiuLeManiDaiBambi”< [email protected] >, “ARIS

TOSCANA“< [email protected] >, ”ARIS VENETO” < [email protected] >

Subject: Re: Supplementary note from the Forum

Of course, Lorita,
The complaint will be a summary of the three letters already sent and will be supplemented with considerations and highlights not included in the three letters.

Best regards to all,

Maurizio

Apparently, the members of the Forum Anti-sette not only received help and advice on how to silence undesirable voices, but also obtained confidential information on the progress of investigations against the accused individuals.

From: [email protected]

Date: October 29, 2011, 10:15 a.m.

To: < [email protected] >, “ARIS TOSCANA”< [email protected] >, “ARIS

VENETO” < [email protected] >

Subject: R: Fw: Between devil and saint :)))

Yes, yes, trust me and I will protect you!!! 😀

From the investigations still underway, I learned that Po, Radoani, Caparesi, and Bono were behind the COVILT website. Investigators had also identified the phone numbers from which the messages sent were. Investigations were still ongoing regarding Di Marzio. But I don’t know anything else about this because the investigations are still in progress. I also know that Po had been interrogated and that, in that context, the investigators had learned that there were other complaints against her from other individuals accusing her of harassment and abuse; therefore, they advised her to make statements in the presence of her lawyer. I also know that she promptly filed the complaint she made against me. But I don’t know anything else.

Since this is investigative material, I would not cite it. What is clear, however, is that Simonetta Po was certainly the first to post that image online (see attachment ‘Right to satire’) and that the photo, published in November 2008, was still present, since its origins, even in April on Simonetta Po’s website (see attachment ‘Guidisatira’).

Who knows why Po was promoting that photo specifically in the newsgroup opened by Pietro Bono titled ‘Let’s talk about CeSAP Bari’.

In the end, the complaint coordinated with Dr. Bocchino was submitted, as she suggested, to the Rimini Public Prosecutor’s Office, signed by Maurizio Alessandrini. Here is an excerpt.

COURT OF RIMINI

TO THE PUBLIC PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE AT THE COURT OF

RIMINI

Ер.с.

Deputy Public Prosecutor at the Court of Bari

Dr. Francesco Bretone

Via Naziariantz, 1

70100 BARI<BR />Ministry of the Interior State Police<BR />

DAC – S.C.O. – Head of the Anticult Squad

Via Tuscolana, 1558

00173 ROMA

President of the Senate Judiciary Committee

Via degli Staderari, 4

00186 ROME

The undersigned MAURIZIO ALESSANDRINI, born on November 8, 1947, in Rimini (RN) and residing there at Via Torricella Feltria, No. 2, married, retired; current president of FA.VI.S. (National Association of Families of Victims of Sects) and spokesperson for the ‘Forum of Italian Associations for Research, Information and Opposition to Sectarian Movements and Abusive Cults’. Telephone no. 0541.726104 mobile 328.5665202: e-mail [email protected]  

With this statement, I hereby file a COMPLAINT-LAWSUIT  

against all those who, for whatever reason, upon reading this, have harmed the dignity of individuals or groups by insulting, slandering, and defaming them with lies, expressly requesting as of now the punishment provided for by current regulations.

GIVEN THAT

— that the association named FAVIS onlus is duly registered under No. 725 of January 9, 2003, in the Rimini Province Register of Volunteer Associations for the Promotion and Protection of Rights (Regional Law 37/96), IS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION AND DOES NOT RECEIVE ANY KIND OF STATE SUBSIDY. (ATTACHMENT 1/a Articles of Association and Statutes; ATTACHMENT 2/a Registration in the Provincial Register of Voluntary Associations);

— that the aforementioned association Favis is a full member of FECRIS — European Federation of Centres of Research and Information on Sectarianism — an INGO represented at the Council of Europe;

— that, by virtue of the activities carried out by the association, together with other associations operating in Italy in the same social sector, the undersigned is the secular representative on behalf of the aforementioned Forum, at the Anticult Squad (SAS) of the Ministry of the Interior, State Police DAC – SCO (Central Operational Service), to which this letter is sent for information purposes;

— that, in this case, the following associations are members of the Forum: FAVIS (www.favis.org), CeSAP (www.cesap.org), ARIS Veneto; ARIS Toscana; Giù le mani dai Bambini (founded by Mr. Aldo VERDECCHIA);

— that the FAVIS Association operates  nationwide in the field of promoting and protecting rights, and is a self-financed association of family members, created primarily to establish a network of solidarity and mutual aid among those whose relatives have been entrapped within abusive organizations. It promotes awareness and offers protection against scams and abuses committed by cults and gurus, reporting to the competent authorities all cases that violate individual rights and actively cooperating with law enforcement agencies. Finally, it is committed to supporting the adoption of a law against the psychological and behavioral manipulation of cult members.

— that the FAVIS Association relies on the expertise of Dr. GIORGIO GAGLIARDI, a medical psycho-physiologist and psychotherapist, known as one of Italy’s most accredited experts on the phenomenon of cults, as well as on the collaboration of prominent figures from the scientific and academic world;

— that the undersigned, as part of his association activities, has been invited as a speaker at conferences and seminars held at prestigious Italian universities; (ATTACHMENTS 3/a-3/b-3/c-3/d)

— that in 2011, on the occasion of the European Year of Volunteering, the FAVIS Association was awarded a CERTIFICATE OF MERIT by the Presidency of the Legislative Assembly of the Emilia Romagna Region for its outstanding work in serving the regional community; (ANNEX 4/a)

EXPLAINS AND REPRESENTS

— On the parliamentary initiative of Senator Antonino Caruso, on May 15, 2008, Bill 569, “Provisions concerning the crime of mental manipulation,” was introduced in the Senate and assigned to the Second Permanent Commission (Justice) on June 25, 2008. (ATTACHMENT NO. 1)

— Subsequently, on September 21, 2011, the aforementioned Commission proceeded with the first expert hearings as part of the “Fact-finding investigation into the phenomenon of mental manipulation of vulnerable individuals, with particular reference to the phenomenon of so-called ‘sects’; On that date, the experts interviewed were: Dr. MASSIMO INTROVIGNE (CESNUR — Center for Studies on New Religions), Prof. SILVIO CALZOLARI; Dr. RAFFAELLA DI MARZIO (SIPR — Italian Society of Psychology of Religion); Dr. LORITA TINELLI (CeSAP — Center for Studies on Psychological Abuse); Dr. FELICE SCARINGELLA (CeSAP). On September 28, 2011, further hearings were held with Prof. FRANCESCO BRUNO (criminologist at La Sapienza University in Rome), Prof. ANNA MARIA GIANNINI (Professor of Psychology at La Sapienza University in Rome), Don ALDO BUONAIUTO (Association Antisette Occulte, Giovanni XIII Community) and the undersigned, MAURIZIO ALESSANDRINI (FAVIS — National Association of Families of Victims of Sects.)

The fact-finding investigation continued on November 8, 2011, with the hearings of Prof. ANTONIO PAGLIARO (Professor Emeritus of Criminal Law, University of Palermo) and Dr. FRANCESCO DE MINICIS (Member of the Board of the Union of Italian Criminal Chambers), and is still ongoing; (ATTACHMENTS Nos. 2, 3, 4, Reports of the three expert hearings):  

— Although a vigorous and constructive debate on this delicate and complex subject was both predictable and even desirable, in fact something quite different happened, namely a relentless and repeated smear campaign on the internet against me personally, the association I chair, and other individuals, namely the aforementioned associations affiliated with FECRIS and their presidents, as well as against Don Aldo Buonaiuto;  

— It should be noted that Don Aldo Buonaiuto, leader of the Antisette Occulte (Anti-sectarian Occult) service, which runs the anti-cult hotline 800228866 for the Comunità Giovanni XIII (John XIII Community), is also a representative of the Anti-Cult Squad (SAS):

— This accusatory campaign and the serious insults spread on the web were carried out by individuals apparently acting in concert and continue to this day. Alongside anonymous authors, it has been possible to prove beyond doubt that the defamatory action was and is still being carried out by Mr. PIETRO BONO, one of the leaders of the organization called Arkeon, by Dr. SIMONETTA PO, and by Dr. RAFFAELLA DI MARZIO;

[…]

Rimini, February 6, 2012

This is just one of the many “orchestrated” complaints submitted by the  Forum Anti-sette to trigger legal proceedings aimed at silencing anyone who disagrees with their activities. As can be seen from the documents published so far, the list of people targeted by the Forum Anti-sette is already quite extensive, but there are more names that could be added. The common denominator among those attacked by the Forum Anti-sette and by the S.A.S. is the fact that they do not agree with the method of spreading panic and alarmism in order to denounce a fabricated “cult” emergency and thus justify the approval of useless and unconstitutional laws.

The polished public statements they use to present themselves as reasonable people working for the common good collapse in the face of the real evidence about their true intentions. The mindset with which they operate is best illustrated by a short email sent to the vice president of ARIS Toscana, Emanuela Fontana, by a Forum member named Gina Benfatto, who now lives in the United States.

From: [email protected]

Sent: February 1, 2012, 2:17 a.m.

To:

< [email protected] >

Cc:

Subject: hey

I’m not kidding, write to me so I can ruin Di Marzio’s reputation. I can reach the president of ICSA. Kisses!

This is not an isolated case. In another email, Alessandrini also reveals the true spirit that drives him.

From: Alessandrini Maurizio

To: Assoc. ARIS TOSCANA ; Assoc. CeSap Lorita Tinelli ; Assoc. ARIS VENETO ; Assoc. Sos Antiplagio Novara ; AVETA Achille

Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 – 12:42 AM

Subject: Conference in Rome, Feb. 16, 2011,  Lateran University

Dear friends, 

I got back home at midnight yesterday from the Rome conference, which was well organized and had a good turnout from both the public and the press. It was interesting thanks to the many presentations by experts (program attached) in different fields, as well as by politicians. If I’m not mistaken, I picked up on a positive sign regarding a green light from the Church for bill 569. I’d like to ask my friend Achille, who was also present at the conference, if he also noticed this signal.

I won’t attempt to summarize the speeches right now, since Don Aldo will soon be sending me the DVD of the conference. As soon as I have it, I’ll send you all a copy. In the meantime, you can check out TG1’s coverage of the conference (skip to minute 6:58):

http://www.rai.tv/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-88847ae9-0f4d-417c-af28-5de506c72ba4.html

Final surprise: do you know who was in the audience? Yes, indeed — none other than Dr. Prof. Cav. Raffaella Di Marzio (absolutely furious for not being invited as a speaker). She must have reported everything to dear Introvigne, who, by the way, was mentioned negatively by one of the speakers.

The “scholar” walked right past me twice. Even though I stared straight at her, she pretended not to know me.

Let’s keep ignoring her, and her circle of friends. I’ve been assured that CESNUR and its collaborators are no longer welcome in the Vatican: the double-dealers have been exposed.

Today, I got a call from the Rainews24 newsroom for a live broadcast scheduled for Monday morning, February 21, between 10:30 and 11:15 a.m. (I’ll be at the Bologna office).

I’ll stop here, as I’m tired.

Good night, Maurizio

Even Giovanni Ristuccia, a marginal member of the Forum Anti-sette and president of the micro-association SOS Antiplagio in Novara, is no different when it comes to his “humanitarian spirit.”

Feb. 20, 2011 – 10:29 PM

Re: Conference in Rome, Feb. 16, 2011, Lateran University

From: [email protected] ( [email protected] )

A: < [email protected] >, “Alessandrini Maurizio”< [email protected] >, “Assoc.

ARIS TOSCANA”< [email protected] >, “Assoc. CeSap Lorita Tinelli”< [email protected] >,

“Assoc. ARIS VENETO”< [email protected] >

I am more than pleased that something is finally moving in a positive direction.

Introvigne is now on the way to his decline, although he might make a last-ditch attempt thanks to his connections with the “Powers.”

Warm regards to Maurizio and Achille,

Giovanni

Systematic Defamation Campaign

A never-ending stream of reports, anonymous complaints, exposés, lawsuits; a continuous dissemination of malicious news via email and personal contacts with politicians, judges, and journalists; an endless series of alarming statements spread through television and radio broadcasts, newspapers, magazines, conferences, and conventions. All this, with the approval and supervision of a police force that is at the very least abnormal, if not clearly unconstitutional, is being carried out to demonize religious, spiritual, and esoteric groups that these people label as “sects” and “cults.”

Two goals of a single campaign

1. Demonization of religious, spiritual, and esoteric groups, labeled as “sects” and “cults.”
2. Suppression of freedom of thought, even for those who:

• Do not belong to these groups
• Simply speak out against the methods of anticultists
• Dare to study alternative forms of spirituality impartially

The crusade mentality

Anticultists do not act as researchers:

• Anyone who does not share their views is automatically treated as an “enemy.”
• Even their government backers think in terms of warfare.

Bruno Zambon (SAS), in a letter to the vice president of ARIS Toscana (April 28, 2012) stated:

“We must oppose the power of the enemy… Even if we end up alone and branded as insane fanatics.”

 

Legal Consequences

Such practices fall under:

• Spreading panic (Art. 658 of the Italian Penal Code)
• Defamation with aggravating circumstances
• Abuse of office (on the part of SAS)
• Use of state resources to persecute dissenters

Conclusion: The system urgently requires a parliamentary investigation and the dissolution of SAS as a structure that violates constitutional principles.

 

---

Sources: 

1. https://web.archive.org/web/20240915003650/http://www.liberocredo.org/en/stop-those-voices-from-talking

2. https://web.archive.org/web/20240920012410/http://liberocredo.org/forum-anti-sette-e-i-sequestri-di-persona-%E2%80%93-1%C2%B0-atto

3. https://web.archive.org/web/20241007223905/http://www.liberocredo.org/forum-anti-sette-e-i-sequestri-di-persona-%E2%80%93-2%C2%B0-atto

4. https://web.archive.org/web/20240915004004/http://www.liberocredo.org/forum-anti-sette-e-i-sequestri-di-persona-%E2%80%93-3%C2%B0-atto-e-conclusione

5. https://web.archive.org/web/20240915011143/http://www.liberocredo.org/allarmismo-di-stato

6. https://web.archive.org/web/20240809091644/http://liberocredo.org/la-squadra-anti-sette

7. https://web.archive.org/web/20161027154936/http://liberocredo.org/squadra-anti-sette-e-costituzione

8. https://web.archive.org/web/20241005083340/http://liberocredo.org/squadra-anti-sette-gruppi-anti-sette-e-plagio

9. https://web.archive.org/web/20241005100348/http://liberocredo.org/i-referenti-della-sas-e-il-plagio

10. http://pensieribanali.blogspot.it

11. https://web.archive.org/web/20241004234122/http://www.agenziaradicale.com/index.php/diritti-e-liberta/1581-persecuzione-e-campagne-anti-sette-intervista-a-raffaella-di-marzio

12. https://web.archive.org/web/20241208100151/https://www.cesnur.org/2013/dimarzio.htm

13. https://web.archive.org/web/20170924211514/http://pensieribanali.blogspot.jp/2013/01/gabriella-monaco-e-la-psicosetta-1_14.html

14. https://web.archive.org/web/20240602012021/http://www.liberocredo.org/sites/default/files/images/06_tinelli-bretone-segnalazione.pdf

15. https://web.archive.org/web/20240915001158/http://www.liberocredo.org/denunce-anonime