That’s why the right-wing extremist was allowed to enter

According to media reports, the right-wing extremist Martin Sellner should be banned from entering the country. On Monday evening he still met up with friends in Passau. What happened?

The Austrian Martin Sellner is one of the best-known right-wing extremists in German-speaking countries. He is considered the head of the “Identitarian Movement” in Austria and is well connected to the local scene. In November he was one of the participants at a secret meeting in Potsdam about the Correctiv reported in early January. There he spoke with representatives of the Union of Values ​​and the AfD about the deportation of people with a migration background. He also gave several lectures at the summer and winter academies organized by the right-wing extremist publisher Götz Kubitschek in his Institute for State Politics. You can find out more about Götz Kubitschek here.

On Monday evening Sellner wanted to travel from Austria across the German border to Passau. The action became a media spectacle – “Tagesspiegel” and “Spiegel” had previously reported unanimously that the federal police had imposed an entry ban on the right-wing extremist. However, there was no sign of this on Sellner’s trip. He was briefly stopped, checked and then allowed to continue on to Passau. Here you can read more about it.

Police Commissioner: “Sellner was very easy to get along with”

“It takes a lot more to deprive an EU citizen of freedom of movement,” says police commissioner Jürgen Bockstedt from the federal police in Passau, who was on site when Sellner was checked, in an interview with t-online. The police checked Sellner as an Austrian citizen upon entry.

However, no entry appeared in the regulatory system that could have prevented Sellner from entering Germany. That’s why he was only questioned briefly before he was allowed to travel on to Passau. “To put it simply: We have nothing against him. He was very easy to deal with during the inspection,” says Bockstedt.

The immigration authority is examining measures against Sellner

According to media reports, the Federal Police Headquarters in Potsdam is said to have imposed an entry ban against Sellner. On the phone, however, a spokesman explains that the authority has nothing to do with it and refers to the immigration authority in Potsdam, which is currently examining measures under immigration law against the Austrian right-wing extremist.

The immigration authority in Potsdam explains that it does not comment on individual and ongoing procedures. If proceedings with the aim of an entry ban have been brought against Sellner, he will probably have the opportunity to submit a case-related statement to the immigration authorities. However, there is a deadline of several weeks, so according to the immigration authorities it is very unlikely that the process will be completed in the next few days.