Austrian right-wing extremist arrested by Swiss police

Martin Sellner was taken away by police in Kreuzlingen Keystone-SDA

The Austrian right-wing extremist Martin Sellner entered Switzerland on Saturday despite being banned from entering the country. The Thurgau cantonal police temporarily arrested him in Kreuzlingen and took him to a police station.

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Sellner crossed the border into Switzerland near Constance, Germany, and was immediately taken away by the Thurgau cantonal police, as can be seen on a video streamed live by Sellner on Saturday morning.

At the request of the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA, the Thurgau cantonal police confirmed that they had stopped a 35-year-old person on Swiss soil in Kreuzlingen and taken him away for further investigations.

+ Switzerland imposes entry ban on far-right Austrian activist Martin Sellner

Sellner, 35, wanted to give a lecture at an unknown location in canton Zurich on Saturday evening. The Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) therefore issued an entry ban on October 11 until October 27. The event was organised by the Swiss right-wing extremist group “Junge Tat”.

The “Junge Tat” wanted to hold an event with Sellner back in March of this year, but this was stopped by the Aargau cantonal police. The police issued Sellner with a temporary ban from canton Aargau.

The Austrian right-wing extremist caused a stir this year with his book Remigration – a proposal. In it, he calls for the expulsion of numerous people with foreign roots from Germany and other European countries. He has not only criminal foreigners in his sights, but also “non-assimilated citizens”.

Media reports about a meeting between Sellner and politicians in Potsdam, Germany, in November 2023, where Sellner is said to have given a lecture on remigration, caused a wave of outrage in Germany and led to numerous demonstrations in German cities.

Eluded the police

On Friday evening, Sellner gave a lecture on this topic in Neu-Ulm, Germany. This led to a cat-and-mouse game between him and the police. The police stormed the ongoing event but were unable to find Sellner on site. According to his own statements, he left the venue shortly before the police arrived and returned later.

Similar to the Swiss Fedpol, the responsible German authorities also imposed an entry ban on Sellner. However, Sellner took legal action against the entry ban imposed in March. In June, a court ruled that the entry ban could not be enforced until a final decision had been made in the case.

Sellner has also announced that he will take legal action against the ban on entering Switzerland. However, according to the ruling published by Fedpol, an appeal against this has no suspensive effect. Violations could result in a prison sentence of up to one year or a fine.

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

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