Uwe Stuckenbrock 1963-2008 * Brother Markus' Report

Uwe Stuckenbrock, April 21, 1963 – October 6, 2008
Uwe Stuckenbrock died in Scientology's “Rehabilitation Project Force” after suffering many years with Multiple Sclerosis. He was 45 years old. Uwe's younger brother, Markus Stuckenbrock spent a year piecing together what happened. Markus has been kind in allowing us to repost his account of Uwe's ordeal. Thank you Markus.

The following was originally posted to The Ex-Scientologist Message Board

Here is Uwes story how I reconstructed it by doing a careful research about his life for over one year now - and to emphasize how unbelievable cruel this organization is I posted the interview with Aaron Saxton below. [this video not currently on Youtube] Especially by listening to the parts 2, 3 and 5 you will learn to really understand how my brother Uwe suffered with his severe illness in this cruel fascistic organization. And Aaron again and again makes it very clear - this was all created by L. Ron Hubbard it is not only the fault of David Miscavige. The whole thing is and was rotten from the very beginning!!

Bitte hör genau zu Papa! Und lerne zu verstehen was Deinem ältesten Sohn widerfahren ist. (Please listen carefully dad! And learn to understand what happened to your eldest son.)

Uwe Stuckenbrock - Cruel suffering and death in the Sea Organization
The Church of Scientology is making claims and promises that L. Ron Hubbard’s Technology can work miracles against severe illnesses like depression, seizure disorders, diabetes and MS. They even claim that poor eyesight can be permanently cured through the teachings and the “scientific” technology in Dianetics and Scientology.

Illnesses such as the common cold and flu are believed to be psychosomatic in nature, psychosomatic in the sense as being “made up” or created by the mind. People with any permanent disability of any kind, is discriminated against in the Church of Scientology believed as "out ethics” and the belief rooted in the philosophy as described in the book “Dianetics, The Modern Science of Health” by L. Ron Hubbard published in 1950.

Curiously, none of these claims has been verified and scientifically proven by any doctor or specialist in the field of science of medicine nor has any studies been documented and proven (and acknowledge by the AMA or alike), by any psychiatrist or psychologist that this “modern science” as described by L. Ron Hubbard truly works.

Without such evidence, the practices of Scientology as an applied philosophy may meet the definition of “religion” in the American system but with no doubt can easily be defined as practicing without a medical license as the “religion” applies philosophical “cures” of these ailments through a “religious” practice or counselling called “auditing”. Auditing is aimed at ridding the mind of the cause for any disease, illness or physical ailment in nature but yet, can not produce any proof to substantiate any of its claims. It is because of this negligence and defiance of modern medical science, I believe caused the cruel and very early death of my brother Uwe Stuckenbrock.

Uwe was diagnosed in 1996 with multiple sclerosis. Because his condition was considered “out ethics” meaning that the person himself was at cause for the illness, the required “remedy” would be auditing, a process where the person or thetan (the soul), will find the “crime” he or she committed against himself or others, or rid themselves of the connection to a “suppressive person” (SP), which (the SP) is causing him to become affected or making him sick (Potential Trouble Source or PTS, for short.)

The only “medical assistance” available or offered is provided by other Scientologists trained only in using all Hubbard “techniques” such as Assists, Clearing Rundowns, Auditing, Ethics Programs etc but in no way is the person offered or encouraged to seek professional medical advice not even if the state of health is so bad that the life of the concerned person is in danger.

Most Scientologists with illnesses forgo the necessary medications and reach for salvation in this auditing instead of seeking proper medical attention because of the promises made by Mr. Hubbard in numerous publications regarding the healing of severe illnesses through Auditing, and with his numerous campaigns of hate against conventional medicine, psychiatry and "anaesthetic drugs" in general. A medical untrained Case Supervisor decides whether Auditing may continue if medication is taken, but only if the medication meets the criteria of not being “mind altering.”

This dangerous mechanism caused by the false promises and misguidance made in Hubbard's writings led to my brother, Uwe not taking or not accepting a much needed therapy by treatment through medication or proper nutrition for his multiple sclerosis.

My brother, Uwe was born in Friedrichshafen on the Lake of Constance in 1963. He liked playing soccer and he loved Haribo sweets especially the Haribo bears. In 1972, we moved to Oberelchingen near Ulm and in 1975 my youngest brother Jürgen died. He was only 8 years old. This tragic death pushed my father and my family into the claws of this money hungry criminal organization with its promises of a better life through the Scientology processing of Auditing. But, in 1978 my parents divorced and we moved with our mother to Hörvelsingen near Ulm.

In 1979, Uwe decided to leave his family to join the Sea Org in East Grinstead Sussex. The Sea Organisation is the “elite” and very secretive group of Scientology. Once a member of the Sea Organisation contact with the outside world is heavy regulated and in certain circumstance right out forbidden. On this day, my mother lost a second son within in a few years.

During the 29 years in the Sea Organisation and until his death, Uwe was only able to visit his family once. Although in his telephone calls, he assured us he always wanted to visit us. I can remember two telephone calls around 1997 with Uwe when he clearly said that he could not travel because the Sea Org feared he would leave. We had one time previously, made arrangements for a visit because Uwe wanted to visit his nieces and we planned to make a journey to Italy together. In the end, this visit and the journey never took place because he was not allowed to travel, never allowed to leave the Sea Organisation again.

Shortly after this diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 1996, his wife Laurisse left him so that she could continue her Sea Org career at the side of David Miscavige, the current leader of Scientology as his personal assistant. It is rumoured that the divorce was encouraged by David Miscaviage and a sexual relationship ensued between the two. But this was not until after Uwe tried to leave because MS is not acceptable in the Sea Org.

He had already "blown" his Post as Security Chief INT by driving away with his motorcycle but he was lured back by Laurisse. She said, "He should not make such a stupidity." In the hope the relationship could be maintained, he came back. Shortly, after that he received a letter in which Laurisse informed him about their divorce.

When Uwe returned, he was assigned to the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) for his crime of wanting to leave the Sea Organisation. RPF is a “labor camp” where the person has to perform physical labor in order to work them, up to a status of being productive and prove they are loyal and obedient members of the organisation. He spent the rest of his life in the RPF. Five years (1997-2001) at the Happy Valley/RPF INT base and from 2001 until 2007 he lived in the PAC RPF (Blue Building) in Los Angeles.

When Uwe “blew” he was sick and merely wanted to seek help for his condition. Sick people are considered to be "out ethics" and first have to work hard at themselves in an RPF program (working themselves upwards in three stages) to be "allowed" again to produce perfectly. With his severe MS, he spent the rest of his life in such a "labor camp" meanwhile his condition deteriorated.

In the RPF, the communication to outside world is extremely difficult if not impossible. They are cut off from the free world, free thinking and neutral information. Their post (mail) is opened. They can not make phone calls without supervision. Contact with the outside world and the family is completely prohibited especially on the lowest level of the RPF. Sea Org members are not allowed or simply have no time to receive proper medical care. During his almost 30 years in the Sea Org, he only received the usual Sea Org salary of $30 a week - in the RPF $ 11.46 per week. He could not have formed any financial reserves which could have offered him additional possibilities for medical care in his tragic situation.

So, he was left with the Church of Scientology as his only possibility. For years we, Uwe's family in Germany were either lied to or not informed about his constantly worsening condition. We were always told “everything” was always good or would certainly become good again when we demanded to use medication against his MS. Their answer was that he would get Auditing which supposedly had already shown initial success. He would be detoxified on a purification rundown and would get vitamins and it would make him better, the cause - old amalgam fillings in his teeth, the poisons in his body (presumably still from his youth in Germany) was now found and they would go to a dentist, then certainly everything would become better quickly, a whole new expensive water treatment would be applied to him and would soon contribute to his healing, etc.

All attempts by us to help Uwe with medical therapies and medications were consistently and successfully rejected by the Church of Scientology and Uwe did not have the opportunity to freely find out and to inform himself in detail about his illness. We were also obviously being lied to about the possibility to bring Uwe back to Germany. My mother was already told in 2003 that Uwe couldn't be brought back to Germany.

By 2004, his had severe multiple sclerosis – he had to sleep and "live" together with up to 40 other RPF members in a small room crowded with bunk beds. Depending on how good or bad his current condition was, either one or two RPF participants supported him and gave him "care". If my research is correct, then none of these people had any form of state-certified qualified medical or nursing training. These were RPF members who had been transferred to the RPF as a disciplinary measure by the Church for some reason. One woman looking for a home for Uwe in the last months of his life seemed to have something like a qualification for doing this “job”.

But obviously, she only managed to find a third class hospital (The Royal Palms Convalescent Hospital) for my brother. As this statement and a very bad classification of this hospital shows: “This is the worst place I have ever seen. With all the money that they get from the state they spend nothing to improve the environment for those poor sick people that have no choice but to live in a convalescent home. DO NOT EVER LEAVE A LOVED ONE HERE.”

From 2007 up to his death he was accommodated in The Skyline Health Care Center and in the last weeks of his life, in the Royal Palm Convalescent hospital 630 Broadway in Los Angeles where he finally passed away on the 6th October, 2008.

My brother, Uwe Stuckenbrock died 45 years young - he lost his life so very early because of the dilettantism and the crude neglect of the responsible people in the Sea Org of the Church of Scientology in the International Headquarters near Hemet California and in Los Angeles California.

At my father's last visit with my brother in LA (2007), his superiors offered him to take Uwe back to Germany. This offer by Uwe's superiors was for the following reason a barefaced farce. For many years Uwe was in the RPF and when his health finally gets completely lost due to the false treatment or lack thereof. Then at the moment when he isn't able to articulate and can't spill any secrets anymore (he was the chief of security of Scientology Int.) - his father gets the generous offer of taking Uwe back to Germany.

Particularly, in the last years when intensive care of Uwe was necessary and where he could only move his head; it would have been essential to use certified nurses in order to maintain his health and to stabilize his quality of life on a high level for as long as possible. Here it would have been important to execute effective pressure sores prevention, to make a professional plan for his care and also to allow for an effective prevention of pneumonia. None of this occurred.

A return to his home country could only have been possible if his family would have a property at their disposal to pay for his medical treatment and/or for accommodations at a centre. But his family in Germany was financially ruined by the Church of Scientology by that time.

I have reason to suspect that my brother because of his multiple sclerosis was never treated for a long period of time by a doctor who was independent of Scientology. Rather, it is usual practice in the Sea Org to bring ill people and above all seriously ill people only to hospitals and to doctors that are either infiltrated by Scientology or strongly influenced by teachings of Scientology.

As far as I have been able to investigate up to now, Uwe never got drugs against his quickly spreading multiple sclerosis. Here, the medical documents of my brother should be thoroughly examined to be able to uncover fatal mistakes made in the care for Uwe.

I have an official certificate as a curative education nurse and speaking with professional experience of 18 years in my job and I am sure that any layman was overwhelmed by this, no matter how well-intentioned and that inevitably mistakes in the care took place. Again, the arrogance of the Church of Scientology becomes quite clear - they believe in everything by their religion and organisation come to grips with no matter whether the persons that are qualified or not. Because Hubbard said, he had found the best solution for all problems in this world. What a stupid arrogance of an individual human being!

In regards to this, the appropriate investigators should study my brother's personal files really closely in order to uncover an inhumane crime.

When he wanted to leave the Sea Org in 1997 due to his illness and the experienced injustices that were connected to this, he was held back against his will and thereby kept in this deadly trap for him. Scientology hindered him from getting the proper medication against his MS and thus caused his cruel and very early death.

Scientology hindered him in telling his mother and his family that he suffered from Multiple Sclerosis for 6 years from 1996 to 2002 thus denying us from given him the help he needed. Scientology hindered my brother from communicating freely with his family for almost 30 years and when he was getting worse, it was even harder to reach him. And very often, we had no chance to talk to him for months and it took several calls before he (was allowed?) to call or called back.

Scientology hindered him from founding a family and Uwe told me again and again that he wanted to have children. Sea Org members are not allowed to have children and those whom become pregnant either has to have abortions or must leave. Scientology hindered him from getting the so much needed warm and tender love from his family. Scientology hindered him from seeing and hugging his three sweet nieces over here in Germany.

Scientology hindered him from leading a happy and free life without the mind manipulations and accusations by this crazy cult. I have seen the pain that this ugly cruelness caused my family and especially for my mother.

Uwe died on October 6th 2008 after 12 years suffering under inhuman conditions and mistreatment of his Multiple Sclerosis. The funeral establishment by “Rachals Funeral Home” managed the “deposing” that took place on October 8th 2008 at Sea off the Coast of Los Angeles County.

In his certificate of death the following is lined up as “cause of death”: Multiple Sclerosis (for months) Sepsis (for days) Respiratory Failure (for minutes) Cardiopulmonary Arrest (minutes).

When it came to his funeral arrangements, none of Uwe's family members were informed in time in order to have a chance to attend this service. May you rest in peace Uwe. And may the Church of Scientology pay for all its committed crimes.

For the people who are trapped in the Sea Org or even in the RPF, the risk of such a fate that my brother Uwe suffered, are just as great. The possibilities to hush up such fates are made easier by the controlling system in the Sea Org so, I assume that my brother certainly isn't the only victim of this suppressive machinery which despises people.

Example given, I knew another victim in person, Heribert Pfaff from my home town Friedrichshafen - He died in the Fort Harrison Hotel in Flag Land base because he stopped the medication against his heavy Grand Mal seizures - and nobody was looking after him – Didn’t just the same happen with Jett Travolta? I'm aware of numerous other casualties who could still be alive today were it not for the Church of Scientology's amateurish and medically unqualified approach when it comes to illnesses.

I felt and feel the great pain of these abuses so very, very deep in my heart.

Markus Stuckenbrock

November 21, 2009