Johan Wevers

There are some who use the Internet as a “toy” to harass and destroy others. It is a game played for their own amusement. Their actions require no motive beyond the twisted satisfaction they receive from lashing out at strangers without consequence.

Johan Wevers is just such an individual; it is his kind who have been the most instrumental in forcing governments to pass and enforce laws to protect their citizens.

Currently a resident of The Netherlands, Wevers claims to have no prior involvement with the Church of Scientology, nor any of its members, yet in 1996 he openly conspired with a group of individuals, who also had no personal relationship with the Church, to violate its intellectual properties.

Wevers’ animosity toward Scientology parishioners made no real sense as he had never even met a Scientologist at that point in time. His primary information about the religion and its parishioners came from extremists with questionable backgrounds who, as a matter of course, persecute religious people.

In fact, it is likely that the only direct contact Wevers had with parishioners was when handing out hate literature right in front of one of their churches.

At first, Wevers posted the copyrighted material anonymously. Later, he proudly announced that he had broken the law because, like his criminally convicted friend Keith Henson, it raised his “status” amongst his associates. Upon posting the materials to his website, he bragged to his friends, “at least I’ve got them angry.”

Wevers compounded these acts when, in 1999, he pressed other extremists to harass parishioners during one of their annual celebrations.

Wevers’ current associates include convicted hate criminal Keith Henson, who fled the U.S. for Canada, Joe Lynn, subject of an investigation in the U.S. for allegedly soliciting sex from a minor on the Internet, Andreas Heldal-Lund, a member of an organization with the stated goal of destroying the Norwegian State Church, and copyright anarchist Karin Spaink, whose other activities on the Internet include “helping” people commit suicide by recommending effective methods or dosages.

While the above copyright violations are Wevers’ obvious illegal acts, considering his associates and his questionable moral character, there are other areas of his life that law enforcement may find of interest: As recently as October, 2000, Wevers admitted he may be in possession of information concerning the activities of a small group of hackers in Europe in whom law enforcement has shown interest in the past.