Swiss police stop far-right Austrian politician speaking at event


  • World
  • Sunday, 17 Mar 2024

Leader of Austria's Identitarian Movement Martin Sellner speaks during a protest against a police raid at his house, outside the Justice Ministry in Vienna, Austria, April 13, 2019. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner/File Photo

ZURICH (Reuters) - A far-right Austrian politician was stopped by the police from speaking at an event in the Swiss canton of Aargau on Saturday after the organisers didn't comply with a police request for the event to be cancelled.

Martin Sellner, leader of the Identitarian Movement - classified in 2019 by Germany's domestic intelligence service as an extreme right-wing group in a sign of official concern about radicals with anti-Islamic and racist views - had travelled to Tegerfelden to present at the event organized by a Swiss group called "Junge Tat" (Young Deed).

Sellner had planned to speak on "remigration", a concept whereby some immigrants could be forced to leave - even if they have citizenship.

"The police in the Kanton of Aargau, Switzerland stormed a speech, turned off the electricity, handcuffed me and performed a push back," Sellner wrote on social media platform X. "I am not allowed to enter Aargau for 2 months."

Aargau police confirmed they had shut down the event after organises failed to comply with a request to do so.

"To ensure public safety and prevent confrontations with people from the opposing side, the speaker at the event was stopped and ordered to leave the cantonal territory," Aargau police said in a statement.

(Reporting by Noele Illien; Editing by David Holmes)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!
   

Next In World

France's Le Pen threatens to topple government on cost-of-living concerns
Pope to make late Italian millennial Carlo Acutis a saint in April
Russia detains German man accused of blowing up gas distribution pipe
Reaction to Putin's approval of a new Russian nuclear doctrine
Russian spy chief says NATO aid for Ukraine missile strikes will be punished
Guns and explosives found in central Athens flat, police say
Exclusive-UN moves to unlock stuck climate financing for Afghanistan, agencies say
Son of Norwegian princess arrested on suspicion of rape is not new to controversies
Ugandan opposition politician kidnapped in Kenya, his wife says
US shuts Kyiv embassy during threat of 'potential significant air attack'

Others Also Read