Karen#1
Well-known member
[Scientology cruise ship the Freewinds, and the Atrium in Clearwater]
Friday we finally began to get access to a large amount of information about what’s been going on in the labor-trafficking lawsuit filed against Scientology in Tampa federal court.
The plaintiffs, former Sea Org employees and Australia residents Valeska Paris and Gawain and Laura Baxter, sued in 2022 over allegations that they had been trafficked as virtual slaves aboard Scientology’s cruise ship the Freewinds as children and adults. But federal Judge Thomas Barber said his hands were tied by US Supreme Court precedent and he had no choice but to force the case into Scientology’s “religious arbitration.”
Valeska and the Baxters went through 15 days of arbitration in Clearwater that began on January 19 before walking out. They are now asking Judge Barber to consider a motion to reconsider, complaining that Scientology has harassed and intimidated them during its sham of an arbitration.
Friday we reviewed the basic points of that motion and then posted Valeska’s full declaration about what those 15 days were like. Yesterday we looked at the declaration by New York psychologist Dr. Chitra Raghavan, who was a witness in the arbitration.
Today, we have the declarations by the other claimants, Gawain and Laura Baxter. These are their statements in full.
Declaration Of Gawain Baxter
1. My name is Gawain Baxter, I am over the age of 21, and I have personal knowledge of the facts stated herein, which I declare are true and correct subject to the penalty for perjury.
2. I participated in a Scientology arbitration from January 19, 2026, to February 6, 2026, at the Atrium Building in Clearwater, Florida.
3. When we entered the building, a Scientology security guard directed us to take an elevator up to the second floor of the building, where the arbitration was going to be conducted. The Scientology security guard told us that the court reporter was not allowed to go upstairs with us.
Read more : Gawain and Laura Baxter detail Scientology's unprofessional Clearwater 'arbitration'
