Budapest complex | Solidarity with Antifa across borders

On Friday, people in front of the Federal Ministry of Justice in Berlin called for increased efforts to transfer the anti-fascist Maja T., who was imprisoned in Hungary, to Germany. Photo: John Malamatinas.

Under the motto »No extradition of Zaid! Get Maja back!” People took to the streets nationwide and internationally on Friday and Saturday. With the two days of action, they called for the anti-fascist Maja T., who was imprisoned in Hungary, to be transferred back to Germany. They also appealed to French institutions to prevent the impending extradition of Zaid A. from France to Hungary.

Both are or were accused in the so-called Budapest complex. An international “commemorative march” by neo-Nazis takes place in Budapest every year on February 12th, glorifying the actions of the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and their Hungarian allies in the Hungarian capital in the long-lasting battle for Budapest in the Second World War in 1944/45. In 2023 there were physical attacks on participants in the neo-Nazi meeting. Criminal proceedings are ongoing against several anti-fascists in Germany and Hungary for their alleged involvement in the acts.

Various solidarity initiatives, including the Budapest Antifascist Solidarity Committee (BASC), the international Just Cause campaign and solidarity groups from Jena, Nuremberg and Paris, mobilized for the day of action this weekend. “We will neither accept any further extradition to Hungary nor the delay in Maja’s return,” it says in their joint appeal. The initiatives condemn the cross-border wave of repression against Antifa that has been ongoing since 2023.

In Berlin, supporters gathered in front of the Federal Ministry of Justice on Friday. Maja's brother handed over an open letter there demanding that the repatriation be pushed forward immediately. Speeches came from relatives, solidarity committees and Red Aid, among others. Activists had previously submitted open letters to the French and Hungarian diplomatic missions in Berlin.

»With the final judgment against Maja T. in Hungary, any further delay is no longer acceptable. The federal government must act now and live up to its responsibility.

The letters had been published in advance in several languages. The initiatives called for them to be handed over to embassies and consulates across Europe. Further actions took place in Nuremberg, Helsinki, Budapest as well as in Belgian and French cities, among others. In Düsseldorf, 161 letters were dropped off at the French consulate - a symbolic allusion to the anti-fascist number code 161, which stands for "Antifa means attack."

The left-wing MEP Martin Schirdewan also took part in the Berlin rally. “Maja must be brought back to Germany immediately,” he demanded, adding: “With the final judgment in Hungary, any further delay is no longer acceptable. The federal government must act now and live up to its responsibility.

Maja was extradited from Germany to Hungary in June 2024. The Federal Constitutional Court later found that the extradition decision had violated Maja's fundamental rights. After a 40-day hunger strike in the summer of 2025 and more than two years in Hungarian prison, Maja was finally sentenced to seven years in prison on September 30th. The procedure for the return to Germany was then initiated. However, according to the Solidarity Committee, no concrete progress can be seen.

Instead, prison conditions have deteriorated further since the transition from pre-trial detention to criminal detention, it was said. Visiting and telephone times have been restricted and private clothing is no longer permitted. In addition, Maja will continue to be isolated from other prisoners.

In a greeting read out at the rallies, Maja describes the consequences of this isolation: »In loneliness there is no appreciation, no gentle look of kindness. That's grueling." At the same time, Maja addressed the supporters: "I found this trust, this confidence, the will not to give up in you."

While Maja's return is a long time coming, another decision is imminent in France. On November 25th, a Paris court is scheduled to decide whether Zaid A. should be extradited to Hungary. The Syrian citizen fled to Germany as a child in 2014 and grew up in Nuremberg. Unlike his German co-accused, whose trial is still ongoing at the Higher Regional Court in Düsseldorf, he does not have a German passport. His defense warns of inhumane prison conditions, racist discrimination and a politically influenced trial in Hungary. The solidarity groups also fear a possible deportation from Hungary to Syria.

The case of Rexhino Abazaj, known as Gino, also shows how complicated cross-border procedures have become. After France initially rejected his extradition to Hungary, French courts later approved his handover to Germany. In October he turned himself in to the German authorities. Since then he has been in custody at the Oldenburg prison.

For Schirdewan, Maja's case shows what could threaten Zaid: "It would be irresponsible to expose Zaid to a comparable risk."

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