Yan Petrovskiy, a 29-year-old right-wing extremist who moved to Norway as a teenager 12 years ago, has been declared a threat to national security. Norwegian authorities have warned Petrovskiy that he faces a deportation order.
Immigration agency UDI (Utlendingsdirektoratet) confirmed to Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) on Friday that Petrovskiy, a Russian citizen with ties to Norwegian right-wing extremists, is unwanted in Norway. A spokesman for Norway’s police intelligence unit PST (Politiets sikkerhetstjeneste) told NRK that deportation is under consideration “out of consideration for fundamental national inerests.”
Neither UDI nor PST would elaborate, but Petrovskiy himself has confirmed via social media that he is a “voluntary warrior” who has traveled back and forth between Norway and Ukraine since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Petrovskiy, who has posted photos of himself armed and in full battle gear alongside burning bodies, has reported taking part in combat in eastern Ukraine along with pro-Russia militias.
Newspaper VG has reported that Petrovskiy marched in the streets of Tønsberg last winter along with members of the Norwegian right-wing group Soldiers of Odin, which was viewed as anti-immigration and set off fears of vigilante tactics during last year’s refugee influx. Prime Minister Erna Solberg ended up claiming that the group had “no place” in the work to secure streets and suggested they have “dangerous” values.
Petrovskiy’s defense attorney told NRK that his client has no record of criminal convictions and linked the pending deportation order to Norwegian officials’ “dissatisfaction with his opinions and political standpoints.” They thus intended to challenge any deportation.
newsinenglish.no staff
