It was presumably the clothes of the victims that prompted the mostly foreigner attackers to believe they were political opponents.Continue reading
A string of violent attacks in February in Budapest perpetrated by suspected far left-extremists from Italy, Germany, and Hungary have shocked public opinion, as such political violence is extremely rare in the country. Although several arrests have been made in connection with the case, the leader of the group is still reportedly at large. According to information from the German new portal Der Spiegel, Johann G., who has gone into hiding, is among the suspects. His fiancée is currently on trial in Dresden.
Johann G., identified by Hungarian newspapers as Johann Guntermann, also known as “Gucci,” is part of a group of about 20 suspects who allegedly hunted down what they thought to be right-wing extremists after a neo-Nazi meeting in Budapest, according to findings by the State Criminal Police Office (LKA) of Saxony. Nine of them were injured, some seriously, during the brutal attacks in mid-February.
Security circles said that the LKA’s “Linx” special commission had identified Guntermann from videos of the attacks. Police then searched properties in Berlin, Saxony, and Thuringia. Guntermann is considered a leading figure in the militant left-wing scene in Germany. State protectors attest to his considerable willingness to use violence, ruthlessness, and what Spiegel has called, “professionalism.” Guntermann went into hiding as early as 2020. The Federal Prosecutor General in Karlsruhe has an international arrest warrant out for him.
Weapons used during the attacks. Photo: police.hu
Four of his comrades-in-arms are currently standing trial before the Dresden Higher Regional Court (OLG) on charges of forming a criminal organization, including his fiancée Lina Engel, also named by Hungarian news sites. The social education worker and the co-defendants are accused of attacking 13 victims in Germany and injuring 13 men, some of them seriously.
In turn, at least nine Germans took part in the attacks in Budapest, according to police. Among them are probably also suspects who are to be attributed to the group accused in Dresden. The proceedings before the Higher Regional Court are expected to conclude in the coming weeks. The Saxon security authorities expect riots by the left-wing, so called “anti-fascists” extremist scene in connection with the pronouncement of the verdict.
As we have reported earlier, a total of four attacks took place in the Hungarian capital mid-February. The first of them took place on Fővám Square last Thursday, where three, reportedly Polish tourists, were attacked by seven to eight people by various means. After the incident, the perpetrators ran away, leaving two of the three victims with serious injuries.
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