German far-left activist Lina E freed again after refusing to testify

A German woman convicted of attacks on far-right activists is to be released from detention following a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court. 

A spokeswoman for the Karlsruhe-based court confirmed on Thursday that the woman, named only as Lina E under German privacy laws, should be freed pending a full ruling. 

Lina E was originally sentenced to five years and three months in prison in May 2023 after being found guilty of serious assault and forming a criminal association.

The guilty verdict led to fury among left-wing activists and riots in several cities across Germany, most notably in Leipzig.

Lina E and her accomplices were accused of carrying out several attacks against suspected members of far-right groups in the eastern states of Saxony and Thuringia between 2018 and 2020.

Thirteen people were injured in total, with two suffering potentially life-threatening injuries.

After serving two-thirds of her sentence, Lina E was released on probation in May in a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice. 

However, she was subsequently jailed for six months by a court in Dresden in June after refusing to testify in a case involving the far-left Antifa-Ost group.

Lawyer Erkan Zünbül praised the decision to free Lina E. "The Federal Constitutional Court has recognized that there are significant constitutional issues at stake here and has acted accordingly by provisionally restoring our client’s freedom."