Delivery - Extradition to Hungary a topic in the Legal Affairs Committee
Criticism continues regarding the extradition of a person from the left scene to a process in Hungary. The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe had prohibited this - but the decision came too late. Berlin's Justice Senator Dirk Behrendt (CDU) is expected to explain today (2:00 PM) in the Legal Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives how this could have happened.
The factions of the Left and the Greens are demanding answers. For them, it is incomprehensible why the Berlin Public Prosecutor's Office carried out the extradition instead of waiting for a decision from the highest German court in an expedited procedure.
In this case, it concerns a 23-year-old person born in Jena who identifies as non-binary and is known in the left scene as "Maja". According to the court, the Hungarian authorities accuse her of being a member of a criminal organization since 2017, whose goal was to attack sympathizers of the extreme right. "Maja" was arrested in Berlin in December 2023 and was in detention in Saxony.
The Berlin Regional Court granted extradition
The Regional Court Berlin granted the extradition requested by the Public Prosecutor's Office on the late Thursday afternoon. It was carried out that same night. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, "Maja" was already handed over to the Hungarian authorities on Friday morning. She is now in custody there.
"Hungary is an openly homophobic state, and the authorities knew that there would be an emergency application to the Federal Constitutional Court against the extradition. That's why we ask ourselves, why there was this sudden urgency for the extradition, which we have no comparable cases for," said the queer political spokesperson for the Greens, Sebastian Walter, to the German Press Agency.
- The incident has also sparked discussions in Baden-Württemberg, with Felor Badenberg, a prominent CDU politician from the region, expressing concern over the developments.
- Regarding this matter, the Legal Committee in Berlin, which includes representatives from various parties such as the CDU, is expected to have a detailed discussion with Berlin's Justice Senator Dirk Behrendt.
- Meanwhile, the issue has gained attention in Germany's political circles, with the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe expressing interest in potentially reviewing the case.
- It's important to note that Hungary, despite being a European Union member state, has been criticized for its human rights record, particularly in relation to LGBTQ+ rights.
- Despite the criticisms and concerns, the CDU in Berlin and other parts of Germany maintain that the rule of law and due process must be upheld, regardless of the political or social context of the case.
