Scientology defectors describe violence, humiliation in "the Hole" - Tampa Bay Times
For years in a desert compound east of Los Angeles, dozens of
managers for the Church of Scientology endured an unusual trial by fire.
The church called it "ecclesiastical discipline," part of the religion.
But some managers came away with stories so troubling they attracted
the attention of the FBI. They tell of violence and abuse in a place
called "the Hole." The church says their stories are lies and
exaggerations.
This is the most detailed account yet of what happened inside the
Hole. It is based on numerous interviews with a dozen former members of
the church's religious order, the Sea Org, and on information found in
church materials and court testimony.