Budapest Complex/Appeals Procedure | Maja T. is fighting against eight years in prison

Maja T., non-binary anti-fascist from Jena, is accused of attacking and injuring neo-Nazis in Budapest in February 2023, here in handcuffs at the opening of the appeal hearing in the Budapest regional court. Photo: Jan Theurich/Dunya Collective The proceedings against Maja T. began on Friday before the appeal court in Budapest. More than two years after the illegal extradition from Germany and a good seven months after the sentence to eight years in prison, the future of the non-binary anti-fascist from Jena is being negotiated again. This time, three judges dealt with the so-called Budapest complex. In addition to T., the cases of the Italian Gabriele M. and Anna M., who comes from Berlin, are also up for trial. The verdict is expected on September 30th.

Some of T.'s supporters gathered in front of the court; most of them had come from Germany. On banners they demanded “freedom for Maja” and declared: “Queers fight back.” Chants of “Free Maja” repeatedly reached the hearing room from outside. A few neo-Nazis were also there. Unlike previous days of the hearing, this time they limited their activities to a livestream in front of the courthouse.

In the first instance proceedings, the court considered it proven that T. was involved in attacks on people from the extreme right-wing scene in February 2023. The reason for the gathering of numerous neo-Nazis was the so-called “Day of Honor,” during which right-wing extremists from several European countries commemorate the attempt by Wehrmacht and SS units to break out of Budapest, which was surrounded by the Red Army, in February 1945.

The public prosecutor's office demanded at least 13 years in prison for T. and Gabriele M. under particularly strict prison conditions and thus went beyond the sentence in the first instance. Hungarian criminal law provides for a punishment range of two to 24 years for membership in a criminal organization; The middle of the sentence is 13 years, and the prosecution believes the sentence should be higher.

At the same time, the public prosecutor argued that both had at least accepted the death of those injured in the attacks. The fact that the acts were stopped doesn't change anything: only the behavior of the injured parties and the risk of third-party intervention prevented them from being completed. The defendants had fully carried out their respective contributions to the crime, which is why the prosecution assumes that the attempt has been completed and there is a contingent intent. In formal legal terms, this means that the perpetrators believed that the harmful outcome would occur, but accepted it with approval.

The public prosecutor's office requested a prison sentence of at least three years for Anna M.. Here too, she was based on the middle of the legal penalty range. M. had been a member of a criminal organization for years and a suspended sentence was therefore not appropriate. The public prosecutor described the previous sentence as “excessively lenient”.

The defense demanded acquittals for all defendants. T.'s lawyer Tamás Bajáky requested a lighter sentence in the event of a conviction. The defense sharply criticized the fact that the public prosecutor's office had not dealt with the procedural errors it had alleged - even though these were an essential reason for its appeal.

The defense also alleged a violation of T.'s fundamental procedural rights. This includes the right to use one's own native language in the proceedings; Defendants should not suffer any disadvantage due to a lack of language skills. Despite the evidence-taking process, no proper and evident chain of evidence has been presented and the identification of the accused has been refused to date.

"I'm afraid that the destructive prison will rob me of my perspective in life."

In a personal trial statement, Maja T. found clear words regarding the criminal proceedings. Maja wanted to "remember the attempts at political influence, the pre-judgment, the pressure and coercion to extract confessions and the absolute will to condemn and punish me." Maja accused the Hungarian judicial authorities of a strategy of psychological and emotional starvation through solitary confinement. T. is “afraid of this judgment; Fear of how much longer in this cell; fear of not seeing people again; Fear that the destructive prison will rob me not only of my clothes, but also of my perspective in life."

Maja's lawyer did not want to commit to a prognosis for the verdict. »I really don't know what's going to happen. It would be best for us to get a milder sentence, then we could end the entire proceedings here in this court." At the same time, he had the impression that the appeal court was listening to the defense: "I think all three judges were open to what we presented. That's why it's very important that you give yourself two weeks to make a decision.

Maja's father, Wolfram Jarosch, described his impression after the trial as "very contradictory." In particular, he sharply criticized the position of the prosecution: "The public prosecutor's office still seems to have very exaggerated ideas. What it boils down to is that the public prosecutor's office is accusing him of conscious intent to kill, so to speak. And that is completely absurd and exaggerated.”

The left-wing politician Martin Schirdewan also sharply criticized the public prosecutor's request. "The fact that the Hungarian public prosecutor's office is now demanding at least 13 years in prison for Maja despite the lack of evidence shows the extent of the criminalization of anti-fascists in Hungary." The federal government "can no longer stand by and must exhaust all political and diplomatic options to bring Maja back to Germany."

Maja T. was arrested in Berlin in December 2023. After six months in custody in Dresden, T. was extradited to Hungary on June 28, 2024. The Federal Constitutional Court later classified this as illegal. Since then, the prison conditions in particular have repeatedly become the subject of international criticism. T. reported extensive isolation, sleep deprivation and humiliating measures. In the summer of 2025, T. went on hunger strike for several weeks and had to be temporarily taken to a prison hospital. A return to Germany could only be possible after the proceedings in Hungary have been legally concluded.

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