Budapest Complex | Dragged to court despite hunger strikes

Despite her clearly poor health, Maja T. was brought back to court in handcuffs on Wednesday. Before the trial began, a prison doctor, according to those close to Maja, briefly declared her unfit to stand trial – but revised this assessment after being pressured by officials. At least, this was reported on Wednesday by a solidarity group supporting Maja T. in the trial.

Maja T., a non-binary woman and German citizen, has been on hunger strike since June 5. According to her supporters, the Budapest-based prisoner has since lost seven kilograms of body weight and suffers from difficulty concentrating, hypothermia, and exhaustion. After more than a year in solitary confinement under conditions that violate human rights, the hunger strike was a final attempt to draw attention to her own situation.

According to the indictment, Maja T., as a member of a criminal organization, participated in attacks on actual or alleged participants of the neo-Nazi event "Day of Honor" in Budapest in February 2023. Nine people were injured, four of them seriously. The Hungarian public prosecutor's office calls this a case of jointly committed dangerous bodily harm "with the risk of death." The attacks were carried out with tools "capable of taking life." Maja T. is therefore sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Against this backdrop, concerns are now growing about Maja T.'s health during the ongoing proceedings. The board of the German Association of Democratic Doctors warns that a stay in prison in itself poses a health risk. Under the known conditions in Hungarian prisons, this risk increases significantly. The association therefore calls for both compliance with medical standards in accordance with the Malta Declaration and the immediate repatriation of Maja T. to Germany.

Maja's father, Wolfram Jarosch, spoke of a scandal: "Obviously, there are doctors in Hungary who place obedience to authorities above the Hippocratic Oath." He calls for independent medical checks by German experts.

Political pressure is also growing. Martin Schirdewan, chairman of The Left group in the European Parliament, announced his attendance at the next day of the trial on Friday. He had previously visited Maja T. in prison . Schirdewan declared: "The German government must not continue to look the other way as Hungary makes an example of this anti-fascist figure."

Also on Friday, a decision will be made on Maja T's request for a reduced sentence and transfer to house arrest. Despite hunger strikes and health risks, however, there is no indication so far that the Hungarian judiciary intends to deviate from its current course – a release to house arrest with or without an electronic ankle bracelet, as happened last year for Ilaria Salis, who was also charged in Budapest, is therefore unlikely.

Both the Association of Democratic Doctors and Martin Schirdewan are calling on the federal government to actively work for Maja T.'s return. It is unacceptable that a German citizen is subjected to proceedings abroad under these conditions – especially since the Federal Constitutional Court has ruled the extradition unlawful.

The Federal Foreign Office, however, stated that the return of Maja T. is solely at the discretion of the Hungarian courts. Schirdewan stated on this topic: "The Hungarian justice system is politically controlled by dictator Victor Orbán." Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and his deputy Lars Klingbeil (SPD) must therefore make the return of Maja T. a top priority.