Unless they will not be extradited to Budapest, German antifascists apparently want to turn themselves in after going underground. For the “fair trial” demanded in Germany, the local judiciary could then force Hungary to investigate.
Defendants who Hungary wants to prosecute in connection with acts committed on the fringes of the “Day of Honour” in Budapest a year ago would turn themselves in – provided they receive a “fair trial” in Germany. This is what a parents’ initiative and the lawyer of one of the nine wanted men told MDR and the “Taz” newspaper on Tuesday.
The reason given was the inhumane detention conditions in Hungary. Supporters of the Italian Ilarai Salis, who is already imprisoned in Budapest, previously reported on this and triggered a controversy between the two governments. The Italian Gabriele Marchesi, who is under house arrest in the same case, will therefore not be transferred to Hungary for the time being.
In the same prison in Budapest, Tobias E. from Berlin is awaiting his appeal proceedings for membership of a “left-wing extremist organisation of young adults” following a deal with the court. However, the German government is not interested in the prison conditions in Hungary. This was confirmed by spokespersons in response to two queries from “nd”, which also concerned the extradition of Maja T., a non-binary person who is currently in custody in Dresden.
In addition to a duty to protect its own nationals abroad, a non-extradition by the German government could also be based on its own interest in prosecution, Jena lawyer Kristin Pietrzyk told “nd”. Such proceedings for “offences committed abroad” are regulated by the German Criminal Code. With the EU-wide European Investigation Order, Germany can force Hungary to gather evidence for a local indictment, explains Pietrzyk. The authorities there even have to fund these investigations on behalf of Germany, according to the EU directive that has been in force since 2017.
However, the Dresden public prosecutor’s office is currently keeping a low profile on the matter and is insisting on full confessions from the German suspects in order to decide not to extradite them to Hungary. The Saxonian authority is already investigating some of those wanted from Budapest in the “Antifa East complex” in a similar matter.
Published in German in „nd“.
Image: Stencil showing Ilaria Salis (Christina Donati Meyer, Instagram).
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