Budapest attacks: Suspect turns himself in, German judge orders him held in custody

A suspected member of a militant far-left group has been placed in pretrial detention in Germany. An investigating judge at the Federal Court of Justice executed the arrest warrant against the man on Friday, federal prosecutors said. The 34-year-old turned himself in at a police station in Hanover on Thursday evening. He is accused of membership in a criminal organization and dangerous bodily harm.

Prosecutors allege that in February 2023, around the “Day of Honor,” an annual gathering of right-wing extremists in Budapest, he and others attacked two people with pepper spray, batons and a hammer. One victim allegedly received at least 15 blows, mostly to the head. Other alleged members of the group have been on trial in Dresden and Düsseldorf for about a year.

Hungary had sought his extradition; a Paris court recently ruled that his transfer to Germany was permissible. His lawyer told dpa that prosecutors had signaled that handing him over to Hungary was no longer on the table. “Our hope now is that a fair trial awaits him here in Germany,” the lawyer told the taz newspaper. He expects charges to be filed soon. The suspect is presumed innocent.