Antifa trial in Paris: Green light for extradition

Nothing now stands in the way of the anti-fascist Rexhino Abazaj (better known as Gino) being handed over to the German judiciary. And this also makes a possible extradition to the Hungarian authorities more likely. The French Court of Cassation on Wednesday rejected an appeal by its lawyers against a ruling in August. On August 19, the Paris Court of Appeal ordered that the German request be granted. The Albanian wanted by Hungary must be referred to the German judiciary for possible prosecution.

Together with other anti-fascists, Gino is said to have physically attacked people at a counter-demonstration on the occasion of an annual neo-Nazi march in Budapest. The lawyers of the accused anti-fascists pointed out from the outset that the police investigations during the Orbán regime were extremely questionable and aimed solely at exaggerating the facts of the case as seriously as possible in order to sentence the counter-demonstrators who had traveled from several countries to long sentences.

With the current decision, the French judiciary could see no reason why the constitutional request of the friendly neighboring country should be distrusted or why its request could be unlawful. However, this ruling can become problematic because there is no guarantee that Gino will not be extradited to Hungary for trial. This time not from the French Republic - which can therefore keep a clear conscience - but from the German judiciary, which has already shown itself to be cooperative with its Hungarian counterparts in the past (as the case of Maja T. shows).

The French judiciary had originally rejected the Hungarian arrest warrant and the extradition request because it assumed that the expected punishments would be disproportionately severe and that the prison conditions in Hungary were characterized as inhumane. But the Hungarian authorities did not accept this. They successfully requested support in Germany.

The German authorities now want to dispose of Gino because there were also German nationals among the right-wing extremists injured in Budapest and the German judiciary would therefore be responsible. However, this continues to be based on the questionable investigations by the Hungarian police during the Orbán period. In Germany, Gino faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if he goes to trial, but in Budapest up to 24!

On Wednesday evening a solidarity event for Gino and all anti-fascists of Budapest took place in Paris. The case of the illegal extradition of Maja T. proves how justified the fear is that Germany could only be a first stage in the persecution of anti-fascists in the case of Gino.