Seven alleged members of German far-left group go on trial over attacks | Germany
Seven alleged members of the German far-left militant group Antifa Ost appeared in court on Tuesday accused of carrying out attacks targeting right-wing extremists that earned them the nickname “Hammer Gang.”
The United States this month designated Antifa Ost as a terrorist group, along with several other European far-left and anarchist groups.
German prosecutors say the group was behind attacks on targets in Germany and Hungary between 2018 and 2023. The owner of a restaurant that serves as a meeting point for right-wing activists in the central state of Thuringia was allegedly attacked twice. It was claimed that some of the suspects targeted right-wing extremists with hammers and some were seriously injured.
The trial of six men and one woman is expected to last until July 2026 in the eastern city of Dresden. Two of the suspects, identified in part as Johann G and Paul M, are accused of attacking and injuring several people in the Hungarian capital Budapest in February 2023 during a so-called “day of honor”, an annual event that attracts right-wing extremists from across Europe.
Another German activist, Maja T, is on trial in Hungary for four attempted attacks targeting neo-Nazis ahead of the same rally in 2023.
Former communist East Germany has long been home to far-right and anti-immigrant youth groups, as well as militant antifascist groups that oppose them.
Johann G is described by prosecutors as a high-ranking member of Antifa Ost responsible for planning the attacks and recruiting accomplices.
He is accused of organizing training sessions with Paul M in which left-wing extremists practiced war techniques and rehearsed attacks. The group is said to be stocking hammers, pepper spray, disguised clothing and mobile phones in warehouses run by Paul M.
Another militant active in the group, Lina E, became a famous case in some far-left activist circles after she was convicted in 2023 for attacks on presumed far-right targets.
The United States announced its designation of Antifa Ost earlier this month as part of President Donald Trump’s broad crackdown on “Antifa” activists who violently oppose him. The designation blocks the group’s members from entering the United States, freezes any assets they may have in the world’s largest economy and makes it a crime to provide them with financial support.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) welcomed the US decision and called on the government in Berlin to follow suit. However, the German foreign ministry said only that it was “taking into account” the US designation.
A home office spokesman said this month: “The threat posed by the attacks [Antifa Ost] The group has decreased significantly in recent times. “The group’s ringleaders, and particularly its violent members, have either already been convicted or are in custody.”
