Ursula Caberta

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix =

| name = Ursula Caberta

| image = 2008 09 Ursula Caberta speaking at Hamburg conference on Scientology.jpg

| imagesize = 150px

| caption = Speaking at a conference on Scientology in Hamburg, September 2008

| order =

| office = Scientology Task Force of the Hamburg Interior Authority

| term_start =

| term_end = Incumbent

| predecessor =

| successor =

| constituency = Hamburg, Germany

| majority =

| birth_date =

| birth_place = Hamburg, Germany

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = German

| spouse =

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| occupation = Commissioner for the Scientology Task Force of the Hamburg Interior Authority

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| signature =

| website = [http://www.hamburg.de/ag-scientology/ Hamburg Scientology Task Force]

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}}

Ursula Caberta y Diaz (born 22 March 1950) is a German politician, former State of Hamburg government official and was the Commissioner for the Scientology Task Force of the Hamburg Interior Authority. She graduated in political economy. According to Deutsche Welle she is considered an expert on the subject of Scientology, and has been observing the organization since 1992.{{cite news|last=Marcus |first=Bösch staff |title=Scientology Targets Europe Amid Fresh Calls for Ban in Germany |work=Deutsche Welle |publisher=www.dw-world.de |date=September 8, 2007 |url=http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_printcontent/0,,2730936,00.html |access-date=2009-02-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412002735/http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_printcontent/0%2C%2C2730936%2C00.html |archive-date=12 April 2008 |url-status=dead }} Her book Schwarzbuch Scientology (The Black Book of Scientology) was published in 2007. Caberta is also an official in Hamburg's authority for interior affairs.{{cite book

| last = Arweck

| first = Elizabeth

| title = Researching New Religious Movements: Responses and Redefinitions

| publisher = Routledge

| year = 2006

| pages = 172, 200, 201

| isbn = 0-415-27754-X}}

The Hamburg Scientology Task Force (AGS) was founded in 1992, to monitor the activities of Scientology, and educate the public on the activities and objectives of Scientology. Furthermore, the AGS provided advice to people wishing to leave the organization. The Task Force was closed down in 2010 as a result of budget cuts, and its work was continued by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution.{{cite news|title=A Victim of Savings Measures: Hamburg to Close Down Scientology Task Force|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/a-victim-of-savings-measures-hamburg-to-close-down-scientology-task-force-a-712323.html|access-date=6 January 2016|work=Spiegel Online|publisher=SPIEGEL ONLINE GmbH|date=17 August 2010}} Caberta continued as a consultant until her retirement in 2013.{{cite news|title=Scientology - Sektenjägerin Caberta ist arbeitslos (Scientology - Sect chaser Ursula Caberta is unemployed)|url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/leben/scientology-sektenjaegerin-caberta-wirft-hin-1.1594102|access-date=6 January 2016|work=Süddeutsche Zeitung|publisher=Süddeutsche Zeitung GmbH|date=7 February 2013|language=de}}

Critic of Scientology

In 1995, Caberta took on an active role in controversies related to Scientology in schools in the Danish town of Bjerndrup near the German border.{{cite book

| last = Richardson

| first = James T.

| title = Regulating Religion: case studies from around the globe

| publisher = Springer

| year = 2004

| pages = 228

| isbn = 0-306-47887-0 }}

In 1996, Caberta stated in The New York Times that she saw similarities between Germany's prior history with the Third Reich, and the Church of Scientology.{{cite news

| title = The Test of German Tolerance

| work = The New York Times

| date = September 15, 1996

| url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E0DF153AF936A2575AC0A960958260

}} In 2000, Scientology filed a criminal complaint (Strafanzeige) against Caberta for alleged bribery after she was accused of receiving a private loan of 75,000 dollars from Bob Minton. The charges were dropped after Caberta paid a 7,500 Euro fine.{{cite news|title=Bußgeld für Caberta|url=http://www.abendblatt.de/daten/2002/06/27/40396.html|work=Hamburger Abendblatt|date=27 June 2002|language=de|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205072106/http://www.abendblatt.de/daten/2002/06/27/40396.html|archive-date=5 February 2007}}

In 2007, Caberta was quoted in Der Spiegel as being worried that the Church of Scientology wanted to influence politics in Germany and throughout Europe.{{cite news

| title = SECT WORRIES: Berlin Concerned about Huge New Scientology Center

| work = Spiegel

| publisher = Spiegel Online 2007

| date = January 9, 2007

| url = http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,458616,00.html

}}

Caberta stated that the Church of Scientology aimed to undermine Germany's democracy with a "cynical ideology".{{cite news

| title = New Scientology Center in Berlin Riles Authorities

| work = Deutsche Welle

| publisher = 2007 Deutsche Welle

| date = 2007-01-13

| url = http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2309694,00.html

}}

In August 2007, along with Udo Nagel, the Hamburg State Interior Minister, Caberta called for a ban on the Scientology organization, but this was rejected by Federal politicians in Berlin. Wolfgang Bosbach, deputy parliamentary group leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU said that a bid to outlaw Scientology may fail because Germany's domestic intelligence service is unlikely to have gathered enough evidence against it to back court action against the sect.{{cite web | title = Controversial Cult: German Parties Reject Bid to Ban Scientology| url = http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,498836,00.html| work = Spiegel Online| publisher = Der Spiegel| date = 2007-08-08| access-date = 2007-08-28 }} In 2007 Caberta called Tom Cruise an enemy of the constitution, saying that he was inseparable from his Scientology activity, and that to cast a member of a totalitarian organisation in the role of an enemy of the Nazis was inappropriate.{{cite news|title=Dreharbeiten: Wieder Streit um Cruise (Filming work: more arguments about Cruise)|url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/Tom-Cruise;art270,2384001|access-date=6 January 2016|work=Der Tagesspiegel|publisher=Verlag Der Tagesspiegel GmbH|date=21 September 2007|language=de}}{{cite web | first = Stephanie | last = Kirchner | title = Cruise Film Gets German OK | url = http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1662534,00.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071102071511/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1662534,00.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = November 2, 2007 | publisher = TIME Magazine | date = 2007-09-17 | access-date = 2007-10-03 }}

When the Task Force was closed down in 2010 as a result of budget cuts, Caberta moved to a position within the Hamburg interior authority, where she continued her work on Scientology{{cite news|last1=Havekost|first1=Folke|title=Hamburg spart "Sektentante" ein (Hamburg economises by cutting "Sect lady")|url=http://www.neues-deutschland.de/artikel/177787.hamburg-spart-sektentante-ein.html|work=Neues Deutschland|publisher=Neues Deutschland Druckerei und Verlag GmbH|date=19 August 2010}}{{cite news|title=Hamburger SPD fordert Erhalt der Scientology Arbeitsgruppe (Hamburg SPD demands that Scientology Task Force remain)|url=http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/hamburger-spd-fordert-erhalt-der-scientology-arbeitsgruppe--/de/News/21604653|work=Ad Hoc News|agency=dapd|publisher=Ad Hoc News AG|date=15 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703051903/http://www.ad-hoc-news.de/hamburger-spd-fordert-erhalt-der-scientology-arbeitsgruppe--/de/News/21604653|archive-date=3 July 2012|language=de}} until she retired from the role in 2013, frustrated by lack of support from the local government. The Hamburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution continues to investigate and report on Scientology activity{{cite book|author1=Hamburger Landesampt für Verfassungsschutz|author-link1=State Authority for the Protection of the Constitution|title=Verfassungsschutzbericht 2014|date=July 2015|publisher=Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg: Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz (LfV)|page=188|url=http://www.hamburg.de/contentblob/4508748/data/2015-06-11-bis-pm-dlbericht-verfassungsschutzbericht-2014.pdf|access-date=6 January 2016|language=de}} and to counsel people wishing to leave the organisation.{{cite web|title=Über Scientology|url=http://www.hamburg.de/ag-scientology/|website=hamburg.de|access-date=6 January 2016}}