THE FILE OPENED.

INTERNATIONAL WARNING SEPTEMBER 15, 1996 International Scrutiny Begins The New York Times reports that Germany’s treatment of Scientologists has already drawn human rights criticism from Washington, DC. The article documents exclusion affecting Scientologists in employment, education, politics and public life. →READ SURVEILLANCE BEGINS JUNE 6, 1997 Germany Puts Scientology Under Surveillance Germany announces that the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (OPC) will place Scientology under nationwide surveillance by federal and state authorities to determine whether it should be classified as unconstitutional. As Peter Schulte later wrote of the record: “According to their findings, there was not even initial suspicion warranting a criminal investigation, and no unconstitutional activities.” →READ INTERNATIONAL WARNING APRIL 1998 The United Nations Raises Concerns A United Nations report finds that individuals in Germany are being discriminated against because of their religion. The US State Department subsequently reports the UN finding and notes continued unequal treatment, including the use of “sect filters”—declarations used to exclude Scientologists from employment, contracts or other opportunities. →READ INTERNAL GOVERNMENT RECORD APRIL 14, 1999 Broaden “Politics” to Include Scientology A Berlin OPC file note acknowledges that Scientology did not fit the traditional definition of political activity required for intelligence surveillance. Instead of treating that as a limit on its authority, the OPC task force set about broadening the definition of “politics” so it could justify its surveillance of Scientology. →READ INTERNAL GOVERNMENT RECORD APRIL 10, 2001 “There Is Nothing to Report” Asked whether there were any findings or information indicating criminal activity by Scientology, Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior replies: “There is nothing to report. Unit O 2 has no reliable findings or information concerning criminal machinations by the [Church of Scientology].” →READ INTERNAL GOVERNMENT RECORD APRIL 10, 2001 122 Reports. No Criminal Offenses. Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior documents that 122 matters reported to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) “revealed no criminal offenses by members of the [Church of Scientology].” To the BKA’s knowledge, the Church “and its structures, have not, to date, been the subject of police investigations” and there were “virtually no indications” that Scientology or leading members of affiliated organizations “were themselves involved in criminal acts.” The Federal Criminal Police Office has therefore proposed discontinuing the Special Reporting Service because its findings have “not led to the identification of criminal conduct.” →READ COURT RULING DECEMBER 13, 2001 A Court Rules on Covert Surveillance After more than four years of surveillance, the Berlin Administrative Court bars the Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution from continuing to use confidential informants against the Church of Scientology. The court finds that the OPC had failed to produce evidence of unconstitutional conduct. →READ INTERNAL GOVERNMENT RECORD JUNE 25, 2003 No Basis for Suspicion

The Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) again proposes discontinuing its Special Reporting Service on Scientology, stating that the findings obtained to date “do not give rise to any suspicion of unconstitutional conduct by the ‘Scientology Church.’” 

The BKA review also states that reports received had “yielded no indications of criminal conduct by the Scientology Organization.” It concludes that the Church’s public activities from 1999 to 2002 were “duly registered and conducted in accordance with the legislation applicable” in the German federal states, that the findings gathered since 1997 were “not sufficient to substantiate that the Church of Scientology may be unconstitutional” and that the reporting service should be ended because those findings “have not led to the establishment of criminal conduct on the part of the Scientology Organization.”

→READ COURT RULING APRIL 2005 An Assessment of Unconstitutional Activity The Higher Administrative Court of Saarland orders the Saarland State Office for the Protection of the Constitution to end its intelligence monitoring of Scientology, finding that years of surveillance had produced no indications of unconstitutional activity and therefore could not justify continued monitoring. →READ COURT RULING DECEMBER 15, 2005 A Court Rules on a “Sect Filter” Germany’s Federal Administrative Court affirms a Scientologist’s constitutional protection under Article 4 of the Basic Law and bars the City of Hamburg from imposing the “sect filter” challenged in the case. →READ INTERNAL GOVERNMENT RECORD JUNE 28, 2007 Nothing Relevant to State Security After years of nationwide police reporting on Scientology, the Federal Criminal Police Office concludes: “To date, the Special Reporting Service on Criminal Offenses by the Scientology Organization has yielded no findings relevant to state security.” →READ DIPLOMATIC RECORD DECEMBER 21, 2007 “Mainly Politically Motivated”

A US diplomatic cable records Hamburg Interior Ministry and Office for the Protection of the Constitution officials telling the US Consulate that their proposal to seek a legal prohibition of Scientology was “mainly politically motivated.”

It also quotes Hamburg OPC leadership stating that “it was a political decision for the state OPCs to observe Scientology” and that they did not view Scientology as a threat.

→READ COURT RULING JUNE 27, 2008 Another Court Ruling on a “Sect Filter” The Hamburg Administrative Court rules that use of a “sect filter” against a Scientologist in his professional activities is unlawful and recognizes that the Basic Law’s protection of freedom of religion and belief extends to Scientologists. →READ OFFICIAL REVIEW NOVEMBER 21, 2008 Insufficient Evidence

Focus Online reports the result of a review commissioned by Germany’s interior ministers: “According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, there is insufficient evidence that Scientology is unconstitutional.”

Focus Online goes on to quote August Hanning, then State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior: “Before we initiate an investigation, we need concrete indications that there is unconstitutionality,” Hanning said. “The Offices for the Protection of the Constitution overwhelmingly take the view that these sufficient indications do not exist.”

→READ INTERNATIONAL WARNING JULY 5, 2019 The Issue Returns to the United Nations The United Nations Special Rapporteurs on minority issues and freedom of religion or belief formally write to the German government concerning discriminatory measures against Scientologists. →READ COURT RULING MARCH 4, 2021 Defining a Security Risk The Higher Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg upholds a ruling that an airport electrical engineer could not be deemed a security risk solely because he was a Scientologist. The court finds that allegations that he was unwilling to respect the law were unsupported and states that “no propensity for violence is apparent either on the part of the plaintiff himself or on the part of the Scientology Organization.” →READ COURT RULING APRIL 6, 2022 A Court Rules on Munich’s “Sect Filter” Germany’s Federal Administrative Court rules that Munich violated a Scientologist’s constitutional rights by denying her an e-bike subsidy after she refused to sign a “sect filter.” The court finds that conditioning the grant on a declaration concerning her beliefs interfered with the freedom of religion and belief guaranteed by Article 4 and violated the constitutional principle of equal treatment. →READ COURT RULING MARCH 23, 2026 Court Restores a Scientologist’s Professional License The Higher Administrative Court of Bavaria orders the reinstatement of a Scientologist’s license as a sworn translator after Bavaria revoked it solely because of her religion. The court states that professional reliability must be judged by a person’s conduct, not their beliefs. →READ