A Norwegian man described by the Polish authorities as an “extremist with direct links to neo-Nazi groups” has been detained in Poland while seeking to enter Ukraine, where he was reportedly planning to join the Ukrainian Foreign Legion.
This morning, Poland’s security services announced that the man had been detained in a joint operation by the Internal Security Agency (ABW) and border guard. The incident took place on 21 September but is only being reported now. The suspect is currently awaiting extradition to Norway.
“A Norwegian citizen tried to get from the territory of Poland to Ukraine to take part in the war there,” wrote the Polish security services in a statement. “He planned to join the International Legion of Territorial Defense of Ukraine.”
“During his previous stay in Ukraine, he allegedly obtained equipment (patches, uniform elements, weapons) from the bodies of Russian soldiers,” they added. Ukraine’s international legion was established shortly after Russia’s invasion last year and contains volunteers from dozens of countries.
🔴TYLKO U NAS🔴
Akcja ABW na granicy z Ukrainą. Norweski radykał zatrzymany#wieszwięcej https://t.co/eBi65WZJkk— tvp.info 🇵🇱 (@tvp_info) October 30, 2023
“During the arrest, officers seized narcotic drugs from the man, as well as materials indicating the promotion of extremism and radicalisation,” added the statement. “During the proceedings, it was established that the man…has direct links with neo-Nazi groups operating in Norway.”
Under Polish law, publicly propagating fascism or inciting racial hatred is a crime carrying a prison sentence of up to two years. However, in the current case, the Polish authorities have not announced specifically on what basis the Norwegian man was detained.
They did note that he has been identified by Norwegian police in connection with possession of weapons and issuing threats against officials.
They also announced that he has been detained in a guarded facility and proceedings to expel him from Poland have been initiated because “he may pose a threat to the internal security”.
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Main image credit: Combat Camera Poland/Flickr (under CC BY-NC 2.0)
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
