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Budapest Court Sentences German Activist Maja T. to Eight Years Over 2023 Attacks

The non-final verdict follows a disputed extradition that Germany’s Constitutional Court later judged unlawful.

Overview

  • The court convicted T. of attempted life‑threatening bodily harm and membership in a criminal organisation, ruling the prison term cannot be suspended.
  • Prosecutors sought 24 years as a deterrent, while the case leaned on surveillance footage with scant direct forensic or witness evidence presented.
  • Both T. and the Hungarian prosecution announced appeals, and the defence signalled it will also pursue a transfer to serve any sentence in Germany.
  • Protests erupted in Berlin, Leipzig and other German cities demanding T.’s return, as supporters and some politicians called the proceedings a “show trial,” while Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt defended the judgment.
  • The case forms part of the wider “Budapest‑Complex” linked to attacks around the annual “Day of Honour,” with nine people injured and related prosecutions underway in Düsseldorf and Dresden.