Ogyen Kunzang Choling : Acquitted (which does not mean innocent)
5 years suspended, yes, it is laughable and even if it can be explained, legally speaking, it is an aberration of the legal system in 2021, it must be the occasion for a reflection on Justice in Belgium as regards the prescription of crimes of sexual abuse of minors, with aggravation of authority, sectarian influence and access to Justice.
Fundraising to pay our lawyers in France
Since 2016 the initiative in Justice OKCinfo has been fighting against the sectarian drift Ogyen Kunzang Choling (OKC) and its founder Robert Spatz alias “Lama Kunzang”, sentenced twice in Belgium with 4 and 5 years of suspended sentence for crimes of sexual abuse of minors, physical and psychological abuse, torture, sectarian hold, embezzlement, forgery and forgery and a whole series of financial crimes.
In the Belgian case, we inherited a whole series of procedural flaws, the main one being the fact that the investigation of this case in Belgium dates back to 1997.
Since our generation missed the judicial investigation, part of the sexual abuse in the Belgian judicial case could not be judged by the court of LiΓ¨ge, that’s why we decided to do everything to prevent Robert Spatz from continuing his crimes, and we are determined to bring a second legal case in the hope of a real conviction for the facts that happened in France.
We do not yet know the exact cost of this new legal action, but we need lawyers, legal aid and psychological support to get through this last ordeal.
The OKCinfo justice initiative was created in 2015 to establish a defense for civil parties in the OKC-Spatz case in Belgium and France. More information
Update #1
Bitter-sweet victory, but victory nevertheless, the appeal in cassation of Robert Spatz alias Lama Kunzang Dorje alias Kundor is rejected by the Court of Cassation of Brussels.
An anonymized version of the 2020 judgment will be published soon so that everyone can understand the background of the OKC-Spatz case.
Indeed, until now, the fact that Justice is rendered, but that no journalistic background work is done on this case, allows the Belgian Justice and the Belgian State to pass this case on the back burner in the shame archives of the Belgian Justice without the slightest questioning, let alone an investigation on the chronic dysfunctions of the Justice in Belgium.
Update #2 - Buddhism, the law of silence.
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Sexual abuse, mental manipulation and embezzlement: Tibetan Buddhism is shaken by serious scandals.
An in-depth account that lifts the veil on the unspiritual underbelly of a religion revered in Europe. His name is Ricardo Mendes and, as a young man, he lived through hell in a Buddhist community in Castellane, far from the ideal of wisdom advocated by its founder, Robert Spatz.
Now in search of justice and having filed a civil suit, Ricardo tells how the Belgian lama encouraged his disciples to abandon their offspring to him, leaving him free to do as he pleased. Physical abuse, deprivation of food and freedom or rape of girls were the daily lot of unprotected children. However, these abuses are not an exception: since Tibetan Buddhism became a fashionable phenomenon in the 1960s, particularly in Europe, sexual and financial scandals have multiplied, while its masters in exile have prospered.
An international icon, the Dalai Lama himself has long covered up the secret dealings of those who serve the expansion of his religion: with an economy based on charity, the latter must avoid too flashy a business…
The Lama Sogyal Rinpoche, who became the head of an empire after the publication of his bestseller The Tibetan Book of Life and Death, was nevertheless denounced by many victims for his immoderate taste for luxury, his violent authoritarianism and his sexual excesses.
In the back rooms of monasteries, “People take charisma for a spiritual quality.
Thanks to its revelations and the quality of its contributors, this edifying documentary helps to unravel the “flowery” Western view of exotic Tibetan Buddhism.
It reminds us that this religion requires total devotion on the part of the student, who must certify to his master that he will keep secret the initiations to which he must submit: an ideal breeding ground for covering abuses of all kinds with a blanket of silence.
The research carried out by journalist Γlodie Emery and documentary filmmaker Wandrille Lanos refines the perception of this spirituality which is adorned with so many virtues, including poverty. Buddhism, a veritable multinational company, has its own head offices, by-products (including meditation), subsidiaries (Buddhist centres for the wealthy), communication strategies and agencies specialising in crisis management.
With numerous testimonies, including researchers and abused followers who tell the story behind the scenes, this in-depth account lifts the veil on the impostures of Buddhism, which is so popular in the West for its quest for inner peace.
Direction : Elodie Emery Wandrille Lanos
Producer Tv Presse Productions
Update #3
For the moment we do not know how much we will have to pay for our defense in the French trial.
In Belgium, thanks to the kindness of our lawyer, we have been able to set up a collective defense for an exceptionally low amount of 40,000 β¬, which amounts to 10,000 per stage of the trial in Belgium.
(1st trial 2016, appeal 2017, counter-appeal at the court of appeal by the civil parties (we won) 2α΅ trial 2020, December 2th 2020 Judgement on Appeal by the defendant in progress)
In France we do not yet have visibility on the costs that this will generate, but we estimate that the total will be higher than in the Belgian case.
We are therefore going to proceed in stages and try to raise as much money as possible in the spirit that any surplus would go to the needs of the Justice initiative, whether it be communication needs, psychological support and of course paying our various lawyers in France.
They support us :
Timeline :
- 1997 – European police raid on OKC/Spatz π§πͺ π«π· π΅πΉ πͺπΈ
- 1997 – 2003 Investigation of the OKC/Spatz case π§πͺ
- 1997 – 2001 Investigation and judgment in the OKC France case (partial dismissal) π«π·
- 2003 – 2008 Lost in the limbo of Justice π§πͺ
- 2008 – New sexual abuse complaints π§πͺ
- 2013 – Lost in the limbo of Justice π§πͺ
- 2015 – Constitution of the OKCINFO Initiative π§πͺ
- 2016 – First trial π§πͺ
- 2017 – First judgment: 4 years suspended π§πͺ
- 2017 – Complaints of sexual abuse against OKC follower/educator π«π·
- 2018 – Appeal of first judgment by Spatz/OKC π§πͺ
- 2019 – Counter-appeal in Cassation by the civil parties π§πͺ
- 2019 – We won the appeal in Cassation against OKC-Spatz π§πͺ
- 2020 – Second trial January 2020 π§πͺ
- 2020 – 8 months of court hearings + Covid-19 π§πͺ
- 2020 – Judgment December 2, 2020 π§πͺ
- 2020 – Robert Spatz convicted, but only 5 years suspended sentence (no jail), entrapment, physical abuse, child molestation, hostage taking recognized. π§πͺ
- 2020 – Spatz appeals to the Supreme Court π§πͺ
- 2021 – Reopening of the OKC-Spatz case – Investigation in progress π«π·
- 2022 – Investigation continues π«π·
- 2022 – Verdict of the appeal in Cassation by the accused – October 5, 2022 π§πͺ
- 2022 – Cassation appeal rejected! endgame for the Belgian case π§πͺ!
- 202x – New trial to come in France π«
