Solidarity with Maja T.: A Call for Justice and Action
The Party of the European Left stands in full solidarity with Maja T., a 24-year-old non-binary antifascist activist from Germany, currently imprisoned in Hungary under conditions that raise serious concerns about political persecution and human rights violations.
Maja was extradited from Germany to Hungary in June 2024, accused of involvement in antifascist protests. While Italian and French courts rejected similar extradition requests, Germany proceeded, despite the risks — a move later condemned by the German Constitutional Court, which ruled the extradition violated Article 4 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, prohibiting torture and inhumane treatment.
Since their arrival in Hungary, Maja has faced extreme isolation, denied humane detention conditions, and is being targeted as a political opponent under Viktor Orbán’s right-wing government. Maja now faces up to 24 years in prison under charges widely viewed as politically motivated.
On June 5, 2025, after a year in solitary confinement and with no legal remedy, Maja began a hunger strike, demanding repatriation to Germany and protesting the degrading conditions. After 40 days, having lost 13 kilograms and suffering from dangerously low heart rate and organ distress, Maja was forced to end the strike on July 14.
Even during this life-threatening period, Hungarian authorities refused house arrest or medical reprieve. Prison officials reportedly threatened forced treatment, violating Maja’s dignity and rights. Meanwhile, the German government remained passive, and the European Union stayed silent — despite its supposed commitment to human rights.
Political and Legal Failure
Maja’s case highlights a shameful collapse of responsibility across multiple levels:
- The Hungarian state is violating core human rights, using the judiciary to target political dissenters.
- The German government, despite a Constitutional Court ruling in Maja’s favor, failed to act to protect one of its own citizens — particularly one belonging to a vulnerable LGBTQ+ group.
- The European Union, while criticizing Hungary’s broader democratic backsliding, has done nothing concrete in Maja’s case, allowing persecution to occur within its own borders.
Maja has been abandoned by the institutions meant to protect them. This silence is not neutrality — it is complicity.
Despite extreme conditions, Maja’s courage and resistance have mobilized support across Europe. Their hunger strike has forced international attention on the repression happening in an EU member state.
As the Party of the European Left, we:
- Demand Maja’s immediate transfer to house arrest and their return to Germany.
- Condemn Hungary for inhumane treatment and Germany for its inaction.
- Urge the European Commission and Parliament to publicly address this case and act to prevent political persecution within the EU.
- Call on civil society, trade unions, and political movements to raise their voices and pressure governments for immediate intervention.
Maja’s case is not isolated — it reflects a dangerous trend: the criminalization of antifascist resistance and the erosion of democratic rights under authoritarian regimes. Defending Maja means defending the rights to protest, to a fair trial, and to exist without persecution — especially for queer, radical, and marginalized individuals.
As Maja begins a fragile recovery, the struggle continues. We will not turn away. We will not let this case disappear into silence.
Maja, we see you. We stand with you. You are not alone.
