Hungarian judges on Wednesday handed an eight-year prison sentence to German anti-fascist activist Maja T. over assaults prosecutors tied to an annual far-right event in Budapest in February 2023, according to the Associated Press. The ruling came after authorities alleged that the defendant took part in attacks on participants of the “Day of Honor,” an event described by the AP as one of Europe’s biggest neo-Nazi rallies, held around the anniversary of the failed 1945 attempt by Nazi and allied Hungarian soldiers to break out of Budapest during the Red Army’s siege.
The court found prosecutors’ case persuasive that Maja T. was one of more than a dozen people who assaulted participants during the clashes. Authorities accused her of attempted aggravated bodily harm causing life-threatening injuries, and of assault committed as part of a criminal organization. The sentencing followed a transfer from Germany to Hungary that supporters and rights advocates had sharply contested.
Maja T. was extradited from Germany to Hungary in December 2024 after Germany’s constitutional court ruled the extradition had been unlawful, citing that it could not be guaranteed she would not face inhumane or degrading treatment in Hungarian custody. Despite that dispute, the case proceeded in Hungary, where her supporters argued the conditions of detention and her prospects for a fair trial were still problematic.
After the verdict was read, Maja T. told the courtroom that the case was politically driven. “But I still have a friendly smile, as well as a moral code, a universal moral code,” she said, and she also called the trial “politically motivated.” The AP reported that the conviction can be appealed, leaving the next step in legal proceedings in the appeals system rather than immediate final resolution.
Outside a hearing in Budapest last year, the defendant’s father, Wolfram Jarosch, said Maja T. had been held in “solitary confinement” and subjected to “degrading conditions.” He added that “The rule of law in Hungary is very, very doubtful,” framing his criticism around what he said were rule-of-law concerns in the country’s handling of the case.
The broader political context around the trial includes Hungary’s designation of “antifa” as a terrorist organization. The AP said antifa is an umbrella term for loosely affiliated far-left activists and groups that resist fascism and neo-Nazis, and that Hungary designated it a terrorist organization after a similar move by U.S. President Donald Trump. Hungary’s governing party and leadership have described such designations as part of efforts to counter violent extremism, while supporters of the defendants argue the labeling is used to target opponents.
The sentencing also echoes previous cases involving anti-fascist activists prosecuted in Hungary. The AP reported that Italian anti-fascist activist Ilaria Salis was jailed in Hungary for more than a year after the 2023 assaults, sparking a diplomatic dispute between Rome and Budapest over her detention treatment. Salis was released to house arrest in May 2024 and later freed after she won legal immunity by gaining a seat in the European Parliament, while Hungary has continued to seek her return to face trial and prosecutors have sought an 11-year sentence.