Investigations against Martin Sellner

The public prosecutor’s office in Vienna is investigating.

It seems as if Martin Sellner had been looking for the staging: It was at the end of January 2024 when the Austrian right-wing extremist reported, partly live on social media, about his border crossing into Germany. Previously, reports had said that an entry ban was being considered against him. But was that true?

Ultimately, Sellner, one of the leading figures of the so-called New Right, was allowed to enter Bavaria after a border check. Sellner triumphed in the live stream. But there are consequences. The Austrian had recorded and published a telephone exchange with a German police officer.

The Vienna public prosecutor’s office is now investigating Sellner, as it confirmed at the request of WDR, NDR and the Austrian news magazine profil. According to a spokeswoman for the public prosecutor’s office, there is suspicion of possible “misuse of sound recording or listening devices”. The possible penalty is up to one year in prison or a fine of up to 720 daily rates.

Sellner’s lawyer expects the case to be dropped

Sellner answered a request from WDR and NDR with statements from his lawyer. The lawyer explained that he expected the case to be dropped. However, he did not deny the basic nature of the incident. According to him, Sellner had distorted the telephone conversation in such a way “that from my client’s point of view, no connection to the person he was speaking to could be established.”

In addition, from the lawyer’s point of view, the publication was protected by the right to freedom of expression, since Sellner had made a “contribution to a debate of general interest” with his “documentary film.”

Sellner’s attempt to enter the country at the beginning of the year was widely covered in the media after his appearance at the so-called “Potsdam meeting” had become known. At this event, Sellner had presented a so-called “remigration” plan for many people with a migration background.

After the research network “Correctiv” made the contents of the meeting public, hundreds of thousands of people across Germany took to the streets to demonstrate against right-wing extremism and xenophobia.

Apparently a report from the federal police

According to information from WDR and NDR, a report from the federal police is said to have set the ball rolling. Initially, the Passau public prosecutor’s office had initiated investigations on the grounds of “violation of the confidentiality of the word”.

Finally, the authority handed the case over to the public prosecutor’s office in Vienna. The Federal Ministry of the Interior in Berlin, which is responsible for the federal police, was cautious when asked: the Federal Ministry of the Interior does not comment on specific individual cases of criminal charges being filed for “fundamental reasons”.