Mário Machado detained in Sweden
The ancient leader of Frente Nacional tells SÁBADO that he was 30 hours detained in Sweden, where he was going to speak at a nationalist conference.. Now he is forbidden to enter the country for the next 3 years.
Five months after leaving prison in parole, Mário Machado as detained in Sweden. The incident happened friday, 29th September, after the ancient leader of the Frente Nacional and ex-leader of the skinhead movement Portugal Hammerskins landed in Sweden, to be a speaker in one of the events of the ultranationalist Nordic Resistance Movement.
The detention happened right after Machado landed in the Gothenburg airport. In declarations to SÁBADO, the ancient leader of Frente Nacional says that, right after putting “the feet in the airport”, was “received by the secret services and the swedish police”. “I was detained for 30 hours and was deported back to Portugal, being now forbidden to return to that country for 3 years”, he said. “I felt like a true political prisoner”, he added.
Mário Machado doesn’t understand the motive for his detention -- and he guarantees that the swedish authorities didn’t let him talk with the embassy or with lawyers. “If i had taken a gun or yelled in the plane, i would understand the detention. But i was just trying to travel to other country, using the free movement of people possible in the Schengen Area”, he explained.
The ancient skinhead leader leader tells that he was taken to a swedish prison and, during 30 hours while he was detained, he was questioned 3 times by the secret services. “The policemen gave me a green uniform, boxers and putted me inside prison cells. I was 30 hours in prison and they warned me that the detention could be extended up to 300 days. I ended up free, but they deported me”, he describes.
A close source to the process confirmed to SÁBADO that Mário Machado was, indeed, detained when he reached Gothenburg. The same source adds that “the detention happened due to the criminal record of Mário Machado”. We may remember that Mário Machado was in prison for almost 10 years for racial discrimination, aggravated coercion, illegal possession of weapon, aggressions and attempted extortion.
The swedish authorities learned that Mário Machado was on his way to Sweden to participate in the ultranationalist event of Nordic Resistance Movement. Besides this, other leaders of the European far-right were also detained, like Julian Bender of the neo-nazi party Der Dritte Weg.
Despite the detention, that made him miss a demonstration in Gothenburg marked by violent confrontation that caused dozens of injured and arrests, Mário Machado guarantees that “teh days in Sweden were profitable”. “We showed that the system runs over itself and i used the opportunity to strengthen relations with other nationalist comrades. Since then, my new movement New Social Order was already invited to go nationalist events in Germany and Hungary, and we even have interviews in our calendar”, he said.
“My time in prison didn’t weaken my nationalist beliefs”.
Mário Machado is in parole since May 2017, after being almost 10 years in prison. However, as he himself tells SÁBADO, nothing changed. “Nationalism is in my blood. I’m a nationalist since i’m 14. The time in prison didn’t weaken my beliefs. If nothing changed with this [prison], i will not change”, said the ancient leader of Frente Nacional.
Faced with a possible return to prison, Mário Machado admits that “it’s always a possibility. I’m in parole, and i can’t even breath for a second. But it was also because of that that i took a degree in law - i know how far i can go. That was my goal when i left. Now i want to do all that is possible to follow my political path”, he said, guaranteeing that “violence is something of the past”. “That is no longer my style”, he says.
The ancient leader of Frente Nacional says that he already knows “what political path to trek”. During prison, in 2014, Machado founded the a movement - the Nova Ordem Social (NOS) [New Social Order]. It was “frozen” until may 2017, and started activity 5 months ago. Where does the portuguese nationalist want to take NOS? “We want to be a party. First, create sections and regions through the country, have number and force to start goint to the streets, spreading propaganda while a movement. And then, when we have a structure ready, gather the necessary 7500 signatures to register a party”, Machado explains. “After this… making the normal progression of any party: reaching power”, he concludes.
