German activist Maja T is facing up to 24 years in prison for alleged involvement in clashes against far-right activists in Hungary in 2023. Human rights groups claim the charges are politically motivated. While other countries have declined to extradite their citizens to Hungary, Germany complied. This case has become a flashpoint in Europe’s broader reckoning with rising repression of activist groups.
In the early hours of the morning on June 28th 2024, Maja T. was sleeping in a German prison cell when they were awoken by police and ordered to get out of bed. An hour later, Maja was in a helicopter on the way to the Hungarian border to stand trial in Budapest.
Maja, a 22-year-old non-binary anti-fascist activist, had been held in pre-trial detention in Germany for six months, awaiting a decision from the German courts about whether they were to be handed over to Viktor Orban’s government in Hungary. Their lawyers’ argument was that Maja would not receive a fair trial in the increasingly authoritarian Hungarian legal system.
When Maja was identified and arrested in a Berlin hotel lobby, they had been on the run for months until June 2023.
Hungary had spent the past year tracking down and arresting anti-fascists across Europe. In February 2023, a counter demonstration against the Day of Honour, a far-right march in Budapest, had escalated into street fights. Within days, Hungary issued international arrest warrants and posted photographs of the fugitives on state media.
Over the next two years, Hungarian authorities, with help from the German, Italian, and French police, pursued more than 20 anti-fascists across Europe, forcing many activists underground. Maja was not the first German anti-fascist sent to Hungary in this affair, and likely won’t be the last. The whole case has opened an interesting geopolitical schism within various EU countries as the extradition debate rages on.
The Day of Honour & Hungary’s Crackdown
The Day of Honour is a yearly event in Budapest that commemorates an attempted breakout by besieged Nazi troops in 1945 as the Soviet army was closing in. The event has become a hugely symbolic meetup and networking point for Europe’s neo-Nazi scene.
From all across Europe, political parties and far-right groups travel to Hungary for this demonstration. Anti-fascist groups also travel from across Europe to counter it, which has led to violent clashes in the past, leading to the event being formally banned in 2022, a decision which was then ignored. The following year, the ban was overturned, clearing the way for the 2023 gathering.
Two days before the 2023 Day of Honour, tensions were rising. There were multiple small-scale altercations between anti-fascist and far-right groups occurring around Hungary’s capital.
The following morning, Laszlo Dudog, a white nationalist rock musician, was beaten up by a group of masked individuals dressed in black. He sustained serious injuries, and a video of the attack went viral. This video would later be used as evidence for many of the subsequent arrests.
The demonstration began around midday on February 11th 2023, and it is estimated to have had about 1,000 participants. This number might seem small but these participants consisted of Europe’s most extreme neo-Nazis. The demo was completely flanked on either side by riot police and counter-protesters. These counter-protesters followed the demonstration, separated by lines of riot police and tried to drown out the march with chants.
Six arrests were made on the day. Of those six, it included Ilaria Salis, now a member of the European Parliament from Italy, and Tobie E. from Germany. They would go on to be held in Hungary for over a year.
Hungarian media quickly framed the clashes as a coordinated terrorist attack and began issuing international arrest warrants. Many of the activists who had come to Hungary went into hiding.
Germany’s role & European responses
Most of the international arrest warrants issued were for German citizens. Germany’s response to the Budapest affair has stood in contrast to other European countries. Italy and France rejected Hungary’s extradition requests due to concerns over Hungarian prison conditions. German and Hungarian authorities have worked together to perform surveillance operations and raids on houses of suspected anti-fascists.
The European Union has condemned Hungary for political interference in its judiciary, including the selection of judges. The current political landscape in Hungary has been a growing concern for many EU countries. Viktor Orban and his Fidesz party have been driving the party towards authoritarianism with radical constitutional reforms. This has coincided with a crackdown on LGBT and minority communities’ rights. In January 2024, members of the European Parliament stated in a resolution that they “express strong concern about the further erosion of democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental rights in Hungary.”
The German State Office of Criminal Investigations handed over Maja T, ignoring urgent appeals from legal experts and human rights organisations. The decision was so hastily executed that even the German High Court later admitted the extradition had been unlawful. According to the Budapest Anti-fascist Solidarity Committee (BASC), German authorities intentionally moved quickly to prevent legal intervention. “They didn’t want the Federal Court of Justice to decide, so they rushed the extradition before it could be stopped,” a BASC spokesperson said. Once an extradition has taken place, it is almost impossible to reverse it unless the Hungarian authorities agree to it.
BASC has condemned Hungary’s judicial system as “hollowed out by Orbán’s rule.” One BASC spokesperson stated: “The Hungarian justice system has been stripped of independence over the past 15 years. It exists to serve Orbán’s political agenda.”
Hungary’s use of the European Arrest Warrant system has raised concerns about its abuse for political repression. Originally intended for major crimes like terrorism, the EAW has now been weaponised to target political dissidents.
What happens next?
Maja is currently still on trial, and her situation is a tough one. If she refuses to confess and faces possibly 24 years in prison, locked away in a country that has a poor record for LGBT rights.
In a statement read before the court, Maja described the conditions of their eight months of pre-trial detention in Hungary, calling them inhumane. “For over 200 days, I have been subjected to continuous long-term solitary confinement. I see no daylight. I am allowed outside for just 30 minutes a day, and always alone.” They spoke of strip searches performed in front of multiple guards, sleep deprivation caused by hourly flashlight checks in their cell, and a prison infested with cockroaches and bedbugs. “I am already suffering mental and physical damage. My eyesight is failing, and my body is exhausted,” they told the court.
For Europe, this case serves as a warning for how Hungary has been able to use the EU’s legal framework to target political enemies beyond its borders. Hungary has pushed for changes to EU extradition laws that would limit member states’ ability to refuse transfers. Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party remains staunch in their position. “If the Antifa criminals had the courage to attack Hungarian citizens, they should bear the consequences over here” said a government spokesperson. Germany’s response has stood in contrast to other countries whose citizens have been implicated in the Budapest Affair. France has refused to extradite its citizens and so has Italy. The Italian government also publicly fought for the return of Ilaria Salis whilst she was in a Hungarian prison.
No far-right participants have been prosecuted. On the day of Majas second court hearing, a group of about 100 Hungarian neo-nazis stood outside the court to intimidate journalists and protestors.
While some EU countries implicated in the Budapest Affair have pushed back against Hungary’s approach, Germany’s cooperation raises broader questions about how member states navigate the tension between its so-called legal obligations and democratic values.
Ethan Rooney is a freelance journalist specialising in global conflict, political extremism, and subcultures, with a special interest in where these areas intersect.