Seven German citizens who took part in the infamous coordinated attacks by the far-left Antifa group in Budapest, Hungary in February 2023 have turned themselves in to German police, the Hungarian state news agency MTI reports.
Two years ago, an Antifa group, consisting mainly but not exclusively of German activists, targeted people attending (or believed to have attended) a commemoration of the attempted breakout of German and Hungarian soldiers encircled by the Red Army during the siege of Buda during World War II, for their alleged ‘fascist’ views. The perpetrators picked their victims out randomly, solely based on their appearances and their proximity to the event.
Now, seven people from Germany—two from Cologne, two from Kiel, two from Bremen, and one from Hamm—have contacted the German police, admitting to being the suspects in the investigation of the attack, and asking the authorities not to extradite them to Hungary. They argue that Hungary is a ‘right-wing authoritarian regime,’ with ‘inhumane conditions’ inside its prison system, and thus their extradition would be ‘a violation of their basic human rights’. They also fear a lengthy prison sentence of up to 24 years, and that the criminal process would not be up to European rule of law standards in Hungary. All this was shared by their attorney, Giulia Borsalino from Leipzig, at a press conference.
The suspects instead want their case to be adjudicated in their home country of Germany.
Their attorney went on to state that six months ago, her clients had offered the federal prosecutor's office to surrender if they received a guarantee that they would not be extradited to Hungary. However, they have not received this guarantee, so extradition and the vicious attackers facing justice in Hungary are still on the table. The case is being investigated in both Germany and Hungary, and German and European arrest warrants are out for several suspects in hiding.
The Antifa Attacker Who Has Gotten Away With It
Last year, the case of Ilaria Salis received a lot of international media attention.
Salis, unlike her seven accomplices mentioned above, is from Milan, Italy. A school teacher by trade, she was among the Antifa activists committing violent crimes in Budapest in February 2023. However, she was apprehended by local police before she could flee the country.
She was held in custody by the Budapest police until June 2024. However, the Italian far-left party Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (Greens and Left Alliance) decided to nominate her for MEP in the 2024 European Parliamentary elections. Since AVC ended up winning six seats in Italy, Salis too was elected a Member of the European Parliament (EP). As an MEP, she has political immunity and thus cannot be prosecuted. In October last year the Hungarian authorities submitted a request to the EP to waive Salis’ immunity. The case will be debated by the EP Justice Committee (LIBE) on 23 January, together with that of Péter Magyar.
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