More Suspects to Be Extradited in Budapest Antifa Attack Investigation

Hungary Today 2024.11.25.

Negotiations are underway for the extradition of two key suspects linked to the February 2023 Antifa attacks in Budapest. A German and an Albanian citizen are currently held in Germany and France, respectively, in connection with the violent events.

According to Telex, Hungarian authorities have issued international arrest warrants for these individuals, with additional warrants for 13 more suspects, including nationals from Germany, Italy, Albania, and Syria.

Key arrests have been made as the investigation into the attacks progresses. Rexhino Abazaj, a 32-year-old Albanian, was arrested in Paris on November 12. He is accused of participating in the violence alongside other far-left groups during the antifa attacks. Additionally, Johann G., a 31-year-old leader of a far-left group in Leipzig, was apprehended on a train in Germany after being on the run since 2020.

The Hungarian police have identified 18 suspects, with several facing prosecution.

The February 2023 attacks saw violent attacks after which nine individuals were hurt, four seriously, as part of the Antifa actions. Among the key figures involved in the planning of these attacks is Ilaria Salis, an Italian national, who is now a serving MEP in the Euroepean Parliament. Salis was released due to her newly gained European parliamentary immunity but now faces a request from Hungary to lift that immunity for prosecution.

Fact

The case of Ilaria Salis dates back to February 2023, when a group of Antifa thugs attacked people, selected at random or by their clothing, suspecting them to be nationalist protesters, in broad daylight in the public spaces of the Hungarian capital. The group attacked without saying they were doing it because of the clothing and for their presumption about the victims’ political approach. A total of four attacks took place at that time in Budapest, and it soon became clear to the police that the attacks were part of a series. One of the suspects, Italian citizen Salis, was accused of being part of the violent group and was therefore standing trial.

Salis was the main defendant in the Budapest Antifa case but has been released from prison in Budapest in May this year and remained under house arrest during her trial in Hungary. Despite the trial, Salis was running as a candidate in the European Parliament (EP) elections for the Italian coalition of the Greens and Left Alliance (AVS – Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra). She was elected as MEP in June, thereby gaining parliamentary immunity, marking the end of over a year of legal proceedings against her.

As investigations continue, Hungarian authorities have sent documents to the prosecutor’s office, recommending charges against those already arrested. International collaboration remains critical, with Hungarian authorities actively pursuing further suspects in this case.

Alleged Budapest Antifa Attacker Extradited by German Authorities

In connection with last year's attacks, Budapest police issued international arrest warrants against 14 perpetrators.Continue reading

Via Telex; Featured Image: Pexels