4 days ago
Germany 'concerned' for far-left activist held in Hungary
The activist, a German citizen known as Maja T., went on trial in February over four counts of attempted assault against far-right activists during a rally in Budapest in 2023.
Maja T., who identifies as non-binary, was handed over to Hungary by Germany last summer -- a decision that was severely criticised by the German constitutional court.
The judges said the extradition order had failed to take account of potentially dangerous prison conditions in Hungary, especially for LGBTQ people.
Maja T.'s Hungarian lawyer, Tamas Bajaky, told AFP his client was transferred to a hospital on July 1.
The activist has lost 14 kilograms and is threatened with "permanent organ damage", the TAZ newspaper reported on Thursday, citing Maja T.'s family.
"Of course there is great concern," foreign ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said.
The German government is in "close contact" with Maja T.'s family, and the German embassy in Budapest was able to visit the activist in hospital, Deschauer added.
Advertisement
The attacks in February 2023 happened in the days preceding the so-called annual "Day of Honour" commemoration in Budapest, where European far-right groups gather to mark a failed attempt by Nazi forces in 1945 to break out of the city during the Soviet army's siege.
Several activists have since been prosecuted in Hungary and could face prison sentences for the attacks as nationalist premier Viktor Orban vows to clamp down on "far-left violence".
