Far-right leader Sellner takes steps against German entry ban
The former head of the far-right Identitarian movement in Austria, Martin Sellner, has taken legal steps against a German entry ban issued last week, a court in the city of Potsdam, which initiated the ban, said on Tuesday.
"We have an urgent application pending," Ruben Langer, spokesman for the Potsdam administrative court, told dpa. The application by Sellner's lawyer is directed against the city's entry ban order from March 22, citing the loss of the right to freedom of movement in the European Union, he said.
Potsdam initiated entry ban proceedings against the high-profile Austrian white supremacist last month after he attended a far-right meeting in the city in November.
Participants discussed "remigration" - namely deporting large numbers of people of foreign origin, even under duress.
The meeting was attended by members of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which is riding high in opinion polls ahead of regional elections in three eastern German states in September.
People across Germany have since held demonstrations against the far right, and the AfD has been continually called out in parliament about the meeting, which appears to have partly hit its national poll ratings.
Sellner, in a video on X (formerly Twitter), confirmed the ban and his plans to appeal.
He described the move as the "nuclear weapon of the entry ban" and called it "completely excessive" and an offence against the free democratic basic order. German law is "being interpreted in a completely distorted way" he added.
However, according to the spokesman, the administrative court does not currently foresee any main proceedings which would have to be legal proceedings. "This presupposes that a notice of objection has been issued." According to the court, the city has two weeks to respond. So far, no statement has been received.
Authorities in a regional state are generally responsible for refusing entry into Germany, though the federal police would have to enforce the nationwide ban as part of border controls.
