Budapest Complex/Gino | France clears the way for Gino's extradition

“Freedom for Gino” is written on the banner in the union hall in Paris. Photo: Luc Śkaille The French Court of Cassation on Wednesday rejected the complaint of the Milanese anti-fascist Rexinho "Gino" Abazaj against his planned extradition to Germany. This threatens immediate execution of the arrest warrant and expulsion.

Shortly after 2 p.m., Gino's lawyer Youri Krassoulia took the microphone in the large meeting room of the trade union building, which was made of wood and has a steel roof structure. Shortly afterwards, a murmur went through the room when the judges' decision was announced: Gino's complaint against the arrest warrant issued by Germany was dismissed. “This means that Germany’s European arrest warrant is now enforceable,” Krassoulia explained to the supporters gathered in the hall.

"We are at the end of the French proceedings regarding Gino," he continued. The decision should not be viewed in isolation from the past few years. The proceedings began with a Hungarian European arrest warrant, against which a success was initially achieved. "Gino was released here twice and arrested twice by the anti-terror police."

Gino A. is one of the accused in the so-called Budapest complex. This refers to the cross-border repression against anti-fascists who are accused of violently attacking actual or alleged participants in the right-wing extremist “Day of Honor” in February 2023. Neo-Nazis from many countries travel to Budapest for the major annual event to commemorate the failed attempt by German Wehrmacht and SS units as well as Hungarian troops to break out of the city surrounded by the Red Army in February 1945.

Gino A. is accused of being involved in an attack on two German neo-Nazis. Hungary had initially demanded his extradition; The French judiciary rejected this in April 2025 due to risks to his fundamental rights and doubts about a fair trial. Germany is now demanding his transfer on the same charges.

"The fact that Gino is coming to Germany is particularly serious because it is still a political process - also in Germany, not just in Hungary."

As the day progressed, the Bourse du Travail became a meeting point of solidarity with Gino. Supporters painted banners, discussed the upcoming decision of the Court of Cassation and prepared the day's further actions. Free radios and left-wing media from several countries accompanied the meeting. The dominant topic of conversation in the morning was the previously only minimally weakened court verdicts against Maja, Gabriele and Anna, who were also part of the accused group, before the Budapest judiciary.

Representatives of the solidarity organization Rote Hilfe from Germany traveled specifically to Paris. Hartmut Brückner told the “nd” on site: “We are here today to send a strong signal of international solidarity. Any extraditions, whether to Germany or Hungary, would be a scandal and a violation of elementary fundamental rights and must be prevented! We stand with Gino and all other persecuted anti-fascists!”

The Italian comic artist Zerocalcare also reacted to the decision: "The fact that Gino is coming to Germany is particularly serious because it is still a political process - also in Germany, not just in Hungary," he said. The assumption of a criminal organization enables the courts "to impose significantly harsher punishments for political reasons than would be the case for the crimes that they are specifically accused of."

What the decision means directly for Gino remained unclear at first. When asked what would happen next after the verdict, lawyer Krassoulia did not want to speculate: "As things stand, Gino is at large at the moment, and I can't say what will happen next after this decision."

In the evening, a large anti-fascist meeting is planned in the hall of the trade union hall, at which hundreds of people are expected, including prominent supporters of Gino, such as the LFI MP Thomas Portes and many others who have been part of a campaign by intellectuals, cultural workers and politicians in recent days. Journalist Louisa Yousfi, who will also speak at the meeting, commented on the campaign: "Not standing by Gino's side today would mean falling into an exclusively defensive position. But Gino and his comrades are not victims of fascism, but resistance fighters.«

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