Germany arrests further suspect in 2023 Budapest attacks

German prosecutors have had another suspect arrested in connection with attacks by suspected left-wing extremists in Budapest in February 2023.

The man turned himself in at a police station in Hanover, according to a statement from the Karlsruhe-based authority, which accuses him of belonging to a criminal organization and inflicting grievous bodily harm.

The Albanian national was allegedly part of the group believed to have attacked individuals in the Hungarian capital, who, from their perspective, belonged to the far right-wing.

The incidents occurred on the so-called Day of Honour, for which right-wing extremists from all over Europe travel to Budapest every year.

According to the German prosecutors, the accused, along with other group members, attacked two people with pepper spray, batons and a hammer. One of the victims received at least 15 blows, mostly to the head.

He is now to be brought before the investigating judge of the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, who will decide on whether to place him into custody.

Accused hopes for 'fair trial' in Germany

Berlin lawyer Lukas Theune told dpa that the accused had turned himself in to the police because he was hoping for a fair trial.

The Federal Prosecutor's Office had emphasized that extradition to Hungary was no longer under consideration, but rather that the criminal proceedings should take place in Germany.

Previously, the accused had been in France, where a second extradition proceeding had been pending. 

Other suspected supporters of the group, which the prosecutors classify as a militant left-wing extremist criminal organization, have been on trial in the German cities of Dresden and Dusseldorf for about a year.