Hungarian court reduces sentence for German anti-fascist convicted in far-right rally assaults

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — A Hungarian appeals court on Wednesday reduced the prison term of a German anti-fascist activist from eight to seven years for participating in assaults during a far-right rally in Budapest in February 2023. The defendant, identified as Maja T., was one of over a dozen activists who attacked participants at the "Day of Honor" event, one of the largest neo-Nazi rallies in Europe.

Prosecutors alleged that Maja T. and others planned to "assault selected victims with various instruments capable of causing death" and to "pursue their ideological struggle against supporters of the extremist right." The judge in the appeals court stated that Maja T. should be considered an accomplice rather than a perpetrator and should not be deemed a member of a criminal organization.

Her father, Wolfram Jarosch, expressed disappointment with the reduced sentence, noting that seven years remains an extremely long time. Maja T. was extradited from Germany to Hungary in December 2024, where she faced allegations of inhumane treatment.