Please find attached seven documents that provide information on the Raëlian movement. One of the attachments, a 1992 article from the Chicago Tribune, provides a description of the movement's beliefs, referring in passing to an "annual seminar in Canada" of Raëlians (20 Mar. 1992). Another attachment, from the French-language Quid 1994, provides the following information on the organization "Raëlien français (Mouvement) (MRF)" (1994, 553):

Claude Vorilhon, born on 30 April 1946, reported meeting an extraterrestrial at Puy de Lassolas in 1973. In 1975 he was reportedly transported to the extraterrestrial's planet. The next year Vorilhon founded the MRF.

The MRF's origin can be traced to 1974, when Vorilhon assumed the name Raël (messenger of the Elohim, creators of humanity) and formed Madech (Mouvement pour l'accueil des Elohim, créateurs de l'humanité). Madech was dissolved in 1975.

After forming the MRF, Vorilhon created the Mouvement pour la Géniocratie mondiale (Movement for a world "geniocracy," or a world government of geniuses) in Switzerland.

The Raëlian movement is described in Quid 1994 as an atheistic religion. Its doctrine states that all life forms on Earth were created by the Elohim, inhabitants of a planet located nine billion kilometres from Earth. The Elohim reportedly chose Raël to establish the above-mentioned geniocracy.

The practices of the movement include the "Raëlian baptism," in which the genetic code of the new Raëlian is transmitted through manual contact to the "great computer" (grand ordinateur). After death, Raëlians have a small area of the frontal skull removed (prélèvement) by a person regarded as a "guide." Raëlians reportedly reincarnate through this area. Another practice of the movement is "sensual meditation" (méditation sensuelle), or the search for pleasure through sensory satisfaction.

The movement's following is estimated at 20,000 people in 26 countries. Its main place of congregation is the Domaine de la Bastide. Quid 1994 states that Le Dourn, in Valence-d'Albigeois, was purchased in 1987 by the Swiss association "Eveil Développement Energie Nature," or EDEN.

A more recent article published in The Toronto Star describes the Raëlians as "a free-love cult that wants to build UFOLand, a hotel and museum in Valcourt (the village where the Ski-Doo was invented)" (23 Oct. 1994). The article further states that "profits from UFOLand are earmarked for an extraterrestrial welcoming centre in Jerusalem" (ibid.).

Another recent article, published in Montreal's The Gazette, states that the Raëlians are "still very active on the Quebec scene," adding that they have reportedly "been trying to raise money to build an intergalactic space embassy in Jerusalem in time for the prophet's arrival in 2025" (6 Oct. 1994). The source describes the UFOLand project mentioned above as a fund-raising venture for which admission will be charged. Finally, the report cites a sociologist as saying that "the Raëlians are essentially peaceful," and that their "most threatening doctrine is free love" (ibid.).

A 1989 article from The Ottawa Citizen attached to this Response reports the jailing of a member of the Mouvement Raëlien Canadien for the killing of a fellow member of the group (19 Aug. 1989, A1, A24). According to the report, Hull city police "don't believe membership in the group had anything to do with the slaying," although "the connection was part of [the killer's] defence of temporary insanity, a key element in the manslaughter plea" (ibid., A24).

The Citizen report provides information on the movement and its jailed follower. It is described as "a Montreal-based group that believes extra-terrestrials are on their way to earth" (ibid.). A tape, apparently playing through a telephone line which the reporter used to try reaching the movement, "invites the public to come to monthly meditation rallies where they try to contact extra-terrestrials" (ibid.). The article cites a "Toronto-based expert on UFO groups" as saying that the Raëlian movement has strong religious beliefs, and that "he (Rael) considers himself a new Messiah" (ibid.).

At the apartments of the killer and the victim, police seized "correspondence and books about unidentified flying objects, as well as star charts and scrolls" (ibid.). A policeman stated that one chart showed the killer and the victim were "in the group's organizational hierarchy" (ibid.). For additional information on the crime and those involved, please refer to the attached copy of the article.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Chicago Tribune. 20 March 1992. Final Edition. Jorge Casuso. "Watch This Space: A Globe-Trotting Guru Claims He Was Abducted by Extraterrestrials And He's Still Carried Away by the Experience." (NEXIS)

The Gazette [Montreal]. 6 October 1994. Final Edition. Peggy Curran. "Quebec Has Long Been Fertile Ground for Sects, Cults." (NEXIS)

The Ottawa Citizen. 19 August 1989. Philip Authier. "UFO Cultist Jailed in Killing."

Quid 1994. 1994. Dominique and Michèle Frémy. Paris: Editions Robert Laffont.

The Toronto Star. 23 October 1994. Final Edition. Mark Bourrie. "A Glimpse Inside the World of Quebec's 'New Religions': Cults Attract People Trying to Cope With a World That Seems Headed Towards Destruction." (NEXIS)

Chicago Sun-Times. 16 April 1987. Lynda Gorov. "Rael is Here with Message from Folks in Space," p. 7.

Chicago Tribune. 20 March 1992. Final Edition. Jorge Casuso. "Watch This Space: A Globe-Trotting Guru Claims He Was Abducted by Extraterrestrials And He's Still Carried Away by the Experience." (NEXIS)

The Gazette [Montreal]. 6 October 1994. Final Edition. Peggy Curran. "Quebec Has Long Been Fertile Ground for Sects, Cults." (NEXIS)

The Ottawa Citizen. 26 October 1994. Final Edition. "Sect Accuses Media of Anti-cult Smear." (NEXIS)

. 19 August 1989. Philip Auther. "UFO Cultist Jailed in Killing," pp. A1, A24.

Quid 1994. 1994. Dominique and Michèle Frémy. Paris: Editions Robert Laffont, p. 553.

The Toronto Star. 23 October 1994. Mark Bourrie. "A Glimpse Inside the World of Quebec's 'New Religions': Cults Attract People Trying to Cope With a World That Seems Headed Towards Destruction." (NEXIS)