In brief
Maja T., a non-binary activist from Germany, has been sentenced to eight years in prison in Hungary due to her involvement in violent confrontations with members of the far-right during a Nazi rally. Supporters question the fairness of the trial and the implications of Hungary's laws regarding gender identity. Maja T.'s case has stirred political controversy amid accusations of using the trial as a political tool.
A German activist has been sentenced to eight years in a Hungarian prison for assaulting right-wing extremists and for being a member of an extreme left-wing group.
The 25-year-old, identified only as Maja T., was found guilty of involvement in violent assaults by the group Antifa Ost in the lead-up to an annual commemoration of Nazi soldiers in Budapest.
Supporters have raised concerns over whether Maja T., who identifies as non-binary, could receive a fair trial in the Hungarian court, because the country legally recognizes only two genders and Pride marches are banned.
Last year, Germany's Constitutional Court found Maja T. could face discriminatory treatment and said an extradition should not proceed.
But the ruling came too late to stop the handover, as police in Germany had already delivered Maja T. to Hungarian authorities by helicopter in an overnight operation in 2024.
The 25-year-old did not comment on the allegations during the trial and the verdict is subject to appeal.
Antifa Ost
In February 2023, far-right groups from across Europe gathered in Budapest to commemorate the anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
The so-called Day of Honour marked an attempt in 1945 by the German Wehrmacht, the Waffen-SS, and their Hungarian collaborators to break through a Soviet siege of the city.
The commemoration is tolerated by the Hungarian authorities.
Between 9 and 11 February 2023, about 20 alleged left-wing extremists from Antifa Ost, a militant far-left multinational group also known as the hammer gang, attacked people with batons, rubber hammers, and pepper spray at several places in Budapest.
Officials said the attackers believed their victims had participated in the commemoration.
Nine people were injured in a number of incidents, four of them seriously. Prosecutors said Maja T. was involved in two attacks and part of a criminal organization.
German MEP Martin Schirdewan from the socialist Die Linke party described the proceedings as a political show trial, saying Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had deliberately exploited this trial for his election campaign.
Eight years in prison for Maja T. is disproportionate, he wrote. This is not about justice, but about setting a political example.
Trials of other members of Antifa Ost are currently under way in German courts in Düsseldorf and Dresden, focusing on the violence in Budapest and other incidents in Germany.
Hungary classifies Antifa Ost as a terrorist group, along with the US, which made the designation last November as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on Antifa activists.
The designation makes group members ineligible to enter the US, freezes any assets they may have there, and makes it a crime to provide material support to the group.
Germany's far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has called for Antifa Ost to be banned domestically.
