Shortly before speech

Sellner banned from entering Switzerland

Martin Sellner is not allowed to enter Switzerland for 18 days.(Bild: AFP or licensors)

Martin Sellner, former head of the far-right Identitarian movement in Austria, has been banned from entering Switzerland for 18 days. The background to this is a speech planned for October 19 in the canton of Zurich on the topic of "remigration" - in other words, that a large number of people of foreign origin should leave Germany, for example, even under duress.

Sellner explained that the speech, which he was due to give as part of an event organized by the "Junge Tat" organization, which is considered to be right-wing extremist, would nevertheless take place. The entry ban, which incidentally also applies to Liechtenstein, is an "indictment of this nation, of this country that actually prides itself on its freedom of expression", Sellner lamented in a video published on social media. Switzerland is "no longer a place of free spirits, but has become a closed left-wing ideological fortress".

First attempted appearance in Switzerland also prevented
Back in March, a similar performance in the Swiss municipality of Tegerfelden was prevented by the police. They intervened because they felt that public safety was not guaranteed. 

The Zurich police corps had also asked the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) to ban Sellner from entering Switzerland, but the federal government decided not to do so. Fedpol stated at the time: "Radical or extreme views alone are not sufficient grounds for a threat to internal or external security or to justify preventive police measures."

Sellner achieves legal victory against the Greens
Sellner recently achieved a legal victory on another front. Green Party General Secretary Olga Voglauer lost a legal dispute against the right-wing extremist.

After it became known in August that Sellner was under investigation in Saarbrücken for allegedly giving a Hitler salute at a rally, Voglauer wrote on X: "Will the FPÖ continue to seek proximity to an organization whose best-known face gives the Hitler salute?". The politician has now had to retract this (see post above).