Budapest Complex | Maja T.'s father speaks of torture

After approximately 300 kilometers, Wolfram Jarosch's protest march "On Foot for Justice!" ended in Berlin on Monday. The final leg of the march took the Jena native and around 90 people to the Hungarian Embassy and finally to the Federal Foreign Office. There, Jarosch handed over a petition with more than 100,000 signatures . In it, "Parents Against Extradition" demanded the return of Maja T. for a fair, due process in Germany, as well as a halt to the extradition of all other defendants in the so-called Budapest Complex.

Jarosch was denied a requested personal meeting with Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU). A ministry employee accepted the petition. However, a conversation with the employee subsequently lasted approximately 40 minutes, the content of which Jarosch declined to comment on.

The father of the anti-fascist Maja T., who was extradited to Hungary, had made his way from Jena to the capital on the anniversary of the controversial measure. A final leg on Sunday, with around 300 people, led to the Higher Regional Court, which had approved Maja's extradition. There, Jarosch delivered an emotional speech in which he described the authorities' actions in Maja T.'s case as "paramilitary." The demonstration ended at Checkpoint Charlie, arguably the most famous former border crossing between West Germany and East Germany.

On Sunday evening, Jarosch and Maja's German lawyer, Sven Richwin, explained the current situation at an event in a packed hall at the left-wing center "Regenbogenfabrik" in Kreuzberg. Jarosch called his child's solitary confinement, which has lasted for over a year and is now continuing in the prison hospital, "psychological torture." With a hunger strike that began five weeks ago, Maja is fighting for human dignity, humanity, and justice. According to his report, Maja now weighs 13 kilograms less. The doctors treating her apparently stated that they do not feel bound by Maja's advance directive and rejection of involuntary treatment.

Yarosh was not granted a personal meeting with Foreign Minister Wadephul.

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At Berlin's "Rainbow Factory," attorney Richwin explained that the non-binary person had little chance of a fair trial. The sentence, which could mean up to 24 years in prison, would be handed down by a single judge, not by a chamber as in Germany. Maja is not allowed to sit next to her Hungarian defense attorney, as the translation is sometimes poor. When questioning witnesses, the judge summarizes what is being described. If people are not recognized in video footage, the judge asks suggestive questions—which could be challenged in Germany under the principle of immediacy. Richwin also criticized the video interrogation: In one case, witnesses who were supposed to recognize people in photos were sitting in a room with three people. In court, they could have spread their narrative of being attacked as harmless tourists.

A member of the Germany-wide solidarity group for the accused and prisoners also spoke on Sunday evening. The Budapest Antifascist Solidarity Committee (BASC) recently called for days of action, during which protests reportedly took place in 30 cities. A session of the state parliament in Saxony was also reportedly disrupted with banners – the most media-effective action to date, alongside Jarosch's hike. Initially, only a few Left Party politicians were on Maja's side and visited her in prison, then the Greens as well – now appropriate pressure must be exerted on the SPD. The solidarity group is calling for "civil disobedience" and protests at domestic companies "with economic interests in Hungary. " Large German automobile companies, in particular, operate locations in the country.

Most recently, a sister of Nele A., one of a total of eight activists who had turned themselves in since February, spoke on Sunday. She stated that the ongoing repression against anti-fascist structures has led to a strong consolidation of solidarity structures. Unlike other defendants, her incarcerated sister is allowed to receive visitors once a week, and Nele is also "still cheerful and funny." Like the spokesperson for the solidarity group, the sister points to the situation of Zaid, who, as a Syrian citizen, is the only one of the self-turned-in-crime activists currently threatened with extradition to Hungary.

Solidarity also comes from the Protestant and Catholic prison chaplains, who issued a joint statement warning of the anti-queer jurisprudence and legislation in the Hungarian justice system. As a queer person, Maja T. is exposed to additional dangers in the already violent prison system, the letter states. The chaplains are therefore also calling for diplomatic pressure for her repatriation. The nationwide association Transinterqueer made a similar call last week.

Three Jena pastors echo this sentiment. "Maja's solitary confinement under the most degrading conditions and the current hunger strike are expressions of a system that deliberately discriminates against queer people," read a statement published over the weekend . The clergy see the government's recent attempt to ban Pride in Budapest as evidence of Hungary's state-sponsored queerism. Citing the biblical commitment to compassion and Christian charity, they call on the federal government to use all diplomatic means to bring Maja back.