Edition: U.S. / Global


Published: December 18, 1993

CHICK COREA, the Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and composer, filed suit on Tuesday against the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg, charging that he was discriminated against because he belongs to the Church of Scientology.

Mr. Corea was to have performed at the world track and field championships in Stuttgart in August 1994, but, said RON MOSS, Mr. Corea's personal manager, the state cut off negotiations just as a contract was about to be signed.

Mr. Moss said he was informed by Winnie Kast, an agent in Tubingen, that Mr. Corea's membership in the group was the obstacle.

Adherents of Scientology have worked hard to establish a presence in Germany. Battles continue there and elsewhere over whether Scientology is a religion, a cult or a profit-making business.

The papers filed by Mr. Corea claimed that the ban against him violated both the German Constitution and international agreements guaranteeing religious freedom.

He is not seeking monetary damages, Mr. Moss saaid yesterday, but rather "recognition by the German Government that concert performers cannot be barred from playing because of religious beliefs." Nadine Brozan