A Budapest court has sentenced 25‑year‑old German activist Maja T. to eight years in prison for her role in violent attacks at the February 2023 'Day of Honor' far‑right rally. She was convicted of attempted aggravated bodily harm and of acting as part of a criminal organization. Her extradition from Germany in December 2024 came despite concerns by Germany's Constitutional Court about possible inhumane treatment in Hungarian custody. Supporters and family have raised objections to her detention conditions and the fairness of the trial; a related prosecution of Italian activist Ilaria Salis has also provoked diplomatic tensions with Italy.
Budapest Court Sentences German Anti‑Fascist Activist Maja T. To Eight Years Over 2023 'Day of Honor' Attacks
Maja T., a German anti-fascist activist, accused of assaulting and injuring neo-Nazis in Budapest in Feb. 2023, grimaces as the sentence is read in court in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Feb.4, 2026, at the Budapest-Capital Regional Court. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
A Budapest court on Wednesday sentenced 25‑year‑old German anti‑fascist activist Maja T. to eight years in prison for her role in violent attacks on participants at a far‑right rally in February 2023.
Maja T., a German anti-fascist activist, accused of assaulting and injuring neo-Nazis in Budapest in Feb. 2023, sits handcuffed after the verdict was read in court in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Feb.4, 2026, at the Budapest-Capital Regional Court. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Charges and Verdict
Prosecutors said Maja T. was among more than a dozen people who assaulted attendees at the annual 'Day of Honor' event in Budapest — a large neo‑Nazi commemoration marking the failed 1945 breakout attempt by Nazi and allied Hungarian forces during the Red Army's siege of the city. The court found her guilty of attempted aggravated bodily harm that caused life‑threatening injuries and of participating in assaults as part of a criminal organization.
Maja T., a German anti-fascist activist, accused of assaulting and injuring neo-Nazis in Budapest in Feb. 2023, who faces 24 years in prison, grimaces while reading a statement in court in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Feb.4, 2026, at the Budapest-Capital Regional Court. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Extradition and Rights Concerns
Maja T. was extradited from Germany to Hungary in December 2024, despite a prior decision by Germany's Constitutional Court that the extradition was unlawful because Hungarian authorities could not guarantee she would not face inhumane or degrading treatment while in custody. Supporters and family members have criticised her detention conditions and questioned whether she received a fair trial in Hungary.
Wolfram Jarosch, center, the father of Maja T., a German anti-fascist activist, accused of assaulting and injuring neo-Nazis in Budapest in Feb. 2023, who faces 24 years in prison, sits in court in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Feb.4, 2026, at the Budapest-Capital Regional Court. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
'But I still have a friendly smile, as well as a moral code, a universal moral code,' Maja T. told the courtroom after the verdict, calling the trial 'politically motivated.'
The defendant's father, Wolfram Jarosch, told The Associated Press outside a Budapest hearing that she had been held in 'solitary confinement' and subjected to 'degrading conditions,' and he said, 'The rule of law in Hungary is very, very doubtful.'
Maja T., a German anti-fascist activist, accused of assaulting and injuring neo-Nazis in Budapest in Feb. 2023, who faces 24 years in prison, enters a court room in Budapest, Hungary, Wednesday, Feb.4, 2026, at the Budapest-Capital Regional Court. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Political Context
The case has taken place amid heightened political tensions in Hungary: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's government last year moved to label 'antifa' as a terrorist threat. 'Antifa' is a loose label for disparate far‑left activists and groups that oppose fascism; it functions more as an ideological umbrella than as a single, structured organization, though some adherents have used militant tactics. Hungary's move followed political steps elsewhere that sought to spotlight violent extremist tactics associated with some anti‑fascist actors.
Related Case And Diplomatic Fallout
The trial follows a related prosecution of Italian anti‑fascist activist Ilaria Salis, who was jailed in Hungary for more than a year after the same 2023 attacks. Salis was moved to house arrest in May 2024 and freed in June after winning a seat in the European Parliament and obtaining legal immunity. Hungarian prosecutors are seeking an 11‑year sentence for Salis and Hungary continues to request her return to face trial, a dispute that strained relations with Rome.
The conviction of Maja T. can be appealed under Hungarian law.
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