BRUSSELS: The EU on Friday added The Base — a neo-Nazi group founded in America and active in several other countries — to its “terrorist” list, subjecting it to immediate sanctions.
“The Base is an organization of right-wing extremists involved in terrorist acts, which was founded by Rinaldo Nazzaro in 2018,” the Council of the European Union said in a statement.
The sanctions comprise a travel ban, a freeze of any assets in Europe, and a ban on EU citizens or companies providing funds to the group.
The Base seeks “to accelerate the downfall of the United States government, incite a race war, and establish a white ethno-state,” the FBI said in court documents reported by the BBC.
Nazzaro, a US citizen, started the group in July 2018 as a network for radical right nationalists readying for armed conflict and then moved to Saint Petersburg and took up Russian citizenship, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a Washington-based think tank.
The Base members operate in the United States and several other countries, including Britain, Australia, Canada, Sweden and the Netherlands, according to think tank and news reports and parliamentary documents.
The Counter Extremism Project, an association focused on extremist groups, said Nazzaro worked for the US Department of Homeland Security between 2004 and 2006, and reportedly with US forces in the Middle East on counterterrorism — a role that gave him top-secret clearance.
Nazzaro resigned his US national security position after developing his white nationalist beliefs, the Counter Extremism Project said.
The CSIS think tank said there were concerns that “The Base poses a notable threat of attracting radicalized members from the US military” and in law enforcement.
Another think tank, the Soufan Center, started by a former FBI agent, said Nazzaro reportedly boasted of his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
EU adds neo-Nazi group The Base to its ‘terrorist’ list
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EU adds neo-Nazi group The Base to its ‘terrorist’ list
- “The Base is an organization of right-wing extremists involved in terrorist acts, which was founded by Rinaldo Nazzaro in 2018,” the Council of the European Union said
- The Base seeks “to accelerate the downfall of the United States government, incite a race war, and establish a white ethno-state,” the FBI said in court documents
South Korea scrambles jets after Russian, Chinese planes approach
- The Russian and Chinese aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone around 10 a.m. local time
- Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defense zone without prior notice
SEOUL: South Korea said it had sent up fighter jets on Tuesday after seven Russian and two Chinese military aircraft entered its air defense zone.
The Russian and Chinese aircraft entered the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (KADIZ) around 10 a.m. local time (0100 GMT), Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.
None of the planes violated South Korean airspace, they said.
Seoul said it deployed “fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies” in response.
The planes flew in and out of the zone for an hour before leaving, the military said, according to Yonhap.
The planes were spotted before they entered the air defense identification zone, defined as a broader area in which countries police aircraft for security reasons but which does not constitute their airspace.
China’s defense ministry later said it had organized drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans.”
The drills took place Tuesday above the East China Sea and western Pacific Ocean, the ministry said, calling the exercises their “10th joint strategic air patrol.”
Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defense zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.
In November last year, Seoul scrambled jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defense zone.
Similar incidents occurred in June and December 2023, and in May and November 2022.
China and Russia have expanded military and defense ties since Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine nearly four years ago.
Both are also traditional allies of North Korea, Seoul’s arch-foe.
