Woman Held Hostage on Scientology Cruise Ship ‘Freewind’ for 12-Years [Video]

Valeska Paris is a member of the Church of Scientology, but apparently, it isn’t by choice. Paris claims that she was held against her will on the Scientology cruise ship “Freewind” for 12-years.

Paris says that she was brought onto the cruise ship when she was 17-years-old by Scientology leader David Miscavige after Paris’ mother tried to leave the church. In an interview with ABC, Paris says that she was taking to the cruise ship for a “two week” trip, but that she was kept on board for more than a decade.

Paris said:

“I was basically hauled in and told that my mum had attacked the church and that I needed to disconnect from her because she was suppressive. He (Miscavige) decided the ship, and I found out two hours before my plane left, I was woken up in the morning and I was sent to the ship for “two weeks.”

The Daily Mail reports that Paris’ mother had publicly denounced Scientology on French TV after her ex-husband Albert Jaquier committed suicide. Jaquier, a self-made millionaire, blamed the church for swindling him out of his fortune before his death.

Paris, who now lives in Australia, says that she was never allowed to leave the ship without an escort and that she couldn’t flea because the church had taken her passport. Paris also claims that the Church forced her to work long hours at the bottom of the ship.

Paris said:

“They take your passport when you go on the ship and you’re in the middle of an island. So it’s a bit hard [to escape] and by that time I was 18, I’d been in Scientology my whole life, it’s not like I knew how to escape.”

The Church of Scientology released a statement saying that Paris’ accusations are absolutely false. The statement reads:

“She certainly wasn’t “forced” to be there. She was also never forced to perform labour in the engine room. The Freewinds is a wonderful place, as even Valeska said on numerous occasions. Her allegation that she could only leave the ship with an escort is totally false.”

According to the Daily Mail, the Freewinds Cruise Ship is used by the Church of Scientology to deliver its highest level counselling course known as Operating Thetan Level VIII.

Here’s the video of Valeska Paris talking about her experience on the Scientology Cruise Ship “Freewind” on ABC.

Do you believe Paris’ story? Was she really held captive on the Scientology cruise ship?