Crime - Police station in Leipzig-Connewitz smeared
A police station in the Leipzig district of Connewitz has been defaced with a large graffiti. The inscription reads "Free Maja" - and thus refers to the controversial extradition of an alleged left-wing extremist person to Hungary. On Saturday, there was also a demonstration against this extradition in Leipzig.
The police station was additionally pelted with stones on Sunday night, the police reported. According to the police, more than 550 people participated in the demonstration under the slogan "NoExtradition - Free Maja" on Saturday afternoon.
"Maja" is a 23-year-old person born in Jena who identifies as non-binary. She is alleged to have participated in attacks on suspected right-wing extremists in Budapest last year. The Hungarian justice system has therefore initiated a criminal procedure. The Federal Constitutional Court had prohibited the extradition by a ruling, but "Maja" was handed over to Hungary an hour earlier.
The police accompanied the demonstration with a large police presence. Simultaneously, in the city, the Fanfest for the European Football Championship as well as two friendly and test matches between Chemie and Lokomotive Leipzig were taking place. A total of 1100 policewomen and policemen were in action - in addition to Saxon officers, forces from Bavaria, Brandenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate and Bavaria. Water cannons from Rhineland-Palatinate had also been deployed in the city.
The police drew a positive balance from the peaceful and "largely disturbance-free" course of events. However, the Left state parliamentarian Juliane Nagel criticized the massive police presence at the demo. A police presence that has such a deterrent effect that it could prevent people from participating is an infringement on the freedom of assembly, Nagel wrote on X.
- The graffiti at the Connewitz district's police station is a cry against the upcoming crime of deporting Maja, the alleged left-wing extremist, to Hungary.
- Despite the peaceful European Football Championship Fanfest and matches in Leipzig on Sunday, the police station in Connewitz was subjected to more stone-throwing violence.
- The demonstration against Maja's extradition in Leipzig was strongly opposed to extremism, with over 550 people participating, including people from various districts like Connewitz and Saxony.
- Due to the violent demo against Maja's deportation in Leipzig, the Hungarian government faces strict criticism as it impacts the peaceful coexistence between the police and citizens, potentially leading to further unrest in Connewitz and Leipzig districts.
- Inexplicably, the ruling by Germany's Federal Constitutional Court to prevent Maja's extradition failed, leading to the deportation only hours before its implementation, causing uproar in Leipzig's Connewitz district.
