Harsh sentence German Maja T. sentenced to eight years in prison in Budapest
A court in Budapest sentenced the German non-binary person Maja T. (2nd from right) to eight years in prison.
Image: dpa
Judge Jozsef Sos largely followed the arguments of the public prosecutor's office.
Image: dpa
A court in Budapest sentenced the German non-binary person Maja T. (2nd from right) to eight years in prison.
Image: dpa
Judge Jozsef Sos largely followed the arguments of the public prosecutor's office.
Image: dpa
The Hungarian judiciary has come down hard on the non-binary person. However, the severe sentence did not come as a surprise - the trial was overshadowed by politics from the outset.
04.02.2026, 14:37
dpa
The Budapest City Court has sentenced the non-binary German Maja T. to eight years in prison. Judge Jozsef Sos, who read out the verdict, considered it proven that the 25-year-old anti-fascist was involved in bloody attacks on suspected right-wing extremists.
The first-instance verdict is not yet legally binding and can still be appealed. It establishes the criminal offences of attempted life-threatening bodily harm and membership of a criminal organization. The sentence cannot be suspended on probation, said Judge Sos. The prosecution had demanded 24 years in prison, the defense an acquittal.
Around 20 German and other suspected left-wing extremists had attacked people with telescopic batons, rubber hammers and pepper spray at five locations in the Hungarian capital between February 9 and 11, 2023, including a German couple. The attackers assumed that their victims had taken part in the so-called "Day of Honor", an annual SS commemoration that is tolerated by the authorities in Budapest. Nine people are said to have been injured in the mostly brutal attacks, four of them seriously.
The public prosecutor's office accused Maja T. of involvement in two of these attacks. T. herself did not comment on the accusations during the trial.
Severe punishment expected from Prime Minister Orban
The case had caused quite a stir in Hungary. The right-wing populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other members of the government had repeatedly expressed their expectation of harsh punishment. Orban also classified the "Antifa group" as a terrorist organization.
