A German transgender Antifa radical has been sentenced to eight years in prison in Hungary over a string of far-left attacks in Budapest.
In February of 2023, the infamous “Hammer Gang” Antifa cell allegedly targeted supposed “neo-Nazis” in Budapest, amid an annual celebration of the Hungarian troops that allied with the Waffen SS against the Soviet Red Army during the Siege of Budapest in 1945.
According to prosecutors, the Antifa radicals snuck up behind their victims before hitting them in the head with clubs and continuing to beat them as they fell to the ground, leaving some with life-threatening injuries and fractures to their skulls, Magyar Nemzet reports.
The leftist gang was also said to target anyone whom they suspected of being right-wing, regardless of whether they were actually attending the ceremony.
The Antifa cell — which the Trump administration recently designated as a foreign terrorist organisation — allegedly included “Maja T.”, who was provisionally sentenced to eight years in prison this week by the Budapest Municipal Court.
Maja, who identifies as “non-binary”, claimed that the decision was politically motivated and that it was made to appease Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who also recently classified Antifa as a terrorist group.
“Of course, I see the Hungarian government’s efforts to influence the independence of the court,” the activist said.
The conviction against Maja for life-threatening assault and membership in a criminal organisation is yet to be finalised; however, the verdict is eligible for appeal. It remains to be seen if Maja will be confined to house arrest during the appeal.
Another alleged member of the Antifa ‘Hammer Gang’ was Ilaria Salis, who was placed under house arrest by Hungarian authorities over the 2023 attacks in Budapest. However, she was freed before the trial concluded after being elected to the European Parliament in her native Italy, which afforded her immunity from prosecution.
Despite the brutal nature of the alleged crimes, Maja has won political support in Germany, including from Berlin’s Constitutional Court, which attempted to block the extradition to Hungary last year.
Following the initial verdict this week, Members of European Parliament from the German Social Democrats and Die Linke accused Hungary of engaging in political persecution, Welt reports.
MEP Martin Schirdewan said that the verdict was “the result of a political show trial that should never have taken place in Hungary”.
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