Leipzig (dpa). U.S. American Robert Minton received the Alternative Charlemagne Award 2000, which was presented on Saturday in Leipzig for the first time. In doing this, the European-American Citizens Committee for Human Rights and Religious Freedom in the USA intends to publicly appreciate Minton's involvement on behalf of the victims of the Scientology Organization.

The unremunerated human rights award is in the form of a sculpture of the Leipzig Nikolas Church created by Leipzig artist Ruediger Bartels. The Award is intended to be an alternative to this year's presentation of the Aachen Charlemagne Award to U.S. President Bill Clinton. From the Committee's point of view, there is reason to dispute Clinton's liberal attitude towards Scientology. In advance of the bestowal of the human rights award to Minton, the Scientology Organization has resorted to accusing him of complicity with former military dictators and notorious human rights violators in Nigeria. He was also said to have "defrauded banks in Europe and the USA with illegal money-laundering deals." Minton has rejected these allegations.