Seven left-wing extremists, ranging in age from 21 to 27, surrendered to authorities on Monday afternoon, according to a report by Tagesschau, citing information from NDR and WDR. The seven suspects, who are in custody, may face deportation to Hungary, where they are accused of participating in violent attacks on suspected neo-Nazis in Budapest in February 2023, in which nine people were injured, six of them seriously.
The attacks occurred in the context of the so-called “Day of Honor” an annual event where right-wing extremists from around the world commemorate the failed breakout attempt of German and Hungarian troops from the Soviet encirclement of Budapest in February 1945.
According to the Hungarian police, the left-wing extremists used extreme brutality in their attack, employing telescopic batons, lead gloves, and hammers on their victims. Hungarian and German authorities are investigating several suspects, including a total of 13 Germans and two Italians, who are accused of the violent attacks and membership in a criminal organization.
The investigation in Germany is now being led by the General Public Prosecutor’s Office, and there is a connection to the so-called “Antifa Ost” proceedings surrounding Lina E. The Tagesschau explains the suspects’ decision to go into hiding with the fear of being extradited to Hungary, where they would face “longer imprisonment and harsh imprisonment conditions.”
Lawyers for the accused have been quoted in the article, with one stating that his client had voluntarily surrendered, despite the risk of being extradited to Hungary, where a “fair trial is not guaranteed under the right-authoritarian government.” His client faced the threat of a “sentence of up to 24 years in prison” and the Hungarian imprisonment conditions also violated “minimum human rights standards.” The German authorities should not approve the extradition to Hungary, the lawyer argued.
Another lawyer stated that she would do everything to prevent her client from being extradited to the “right-authoritarian Hungarian regime” so that her client would not be subjected to inhumane imprisonment conditions.
According to the article, the suspects had already offered to surrender to the authorities a year ago, on the condition that they would not be extradited to Hungary. The justice system did not respond to this offer, and an extradition is still not ruled out.
In June 2024, the extremist Simeon T. was extradited to Hungary. T, who describes themselves as “non-binary” has been consistently referred to as “Maja T.” in German media. The Berlin Kammergericht had approved the extradition, and a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court to stop the extradition came too late.