Skip to content
Crime-and-justice — Stay Informed: Latest Politics News and Insights

Maja T. Initiates Fast in Hungary: Voluntary Food Deprivation

Maja T. alleges to have been confined solitarily in Hungary for a year. Now, she plans to initiate a hunger strike, contesting a judicial system that disenfranchises, isolates, and systematically strips human dignity.

,   and  ASMedia
3 min read
Hungarian prisoner Maja T. has been kept isolated for a year as per her accounts, and now she's...
Hungarian prisoner Maja T. has been kept isolated for a year as per her accounts, and now she's initiating a hunger strike. The judiciary being contested by T. is alleged to strip power, segregate, and methodically degrade human dignity.

Maja T. Initiates Fast in Hungary: Voluntary Food Deprivation

Protest Against Hungary's Punitive Locker: Maja T's Desperate Standoff

In a drastic move, Maja T., a 24-year-old antifascist from Germany, has announced they'll start a hunger strike, effective immediately. This standoff began due to the pitiful conditions in a Hungarian prison. The Budapest court fumbled their initial promise of deciding on a house arrest request on Wednesday, delaying it until June 20. Maja's plight? Almost a year of awful long-term solitary confinement.

Their cell, under continuous video surveillance for three months, looks more like a cage than a place for rehabilitation. During the past seven-plus months, Maja has been forced to traipse around with handcuffs on, outside the cell, even during visits, medical appointments, or phone calls. Nightly, they endure the harsh glare of a lit cell, every blasted check. Visits take place through cold, impersonal glass partitions, while intimate body searches are routine. Add in a swarm of bedbugs and cockroaches infesting their cell, crappy rations, and a dearth of fresh air, and it's no wonder the living situation is a living nightmare.

Maja's mental health is screaming for salvation too. For nearly six months, they barely exchanged words with fellow inmates. Now, even with this minuscule social interaction, Maja spends more than 23 hours suctioned to their solitary prison cell. The United Nations' Nelson Mandela Rules state that this form of isolation qualifies as inhumane treatment and torture with just 15 days exposure[5]. Maja laments, "I'm entombed alive in a prison cell."

Desperate and disillusioned, Maja's hunger strike is a final attempt at finding justice. They contend they can't hold on any longer for decisions from a biased justice system that repeatedly violates their rights. Maja demands an extradition to Germany, slamming the local German authorities for their complicity in the situation: The Berlin Regional Court and Saxony's Special Commission Linx have deliberately enforced the extradition, disregarding an open constitutional complaint and foreseeable human rights violations[6].

  • / Friedrich Kraft, Cologne: A Symphony of Solidarity for Zaid A.
  • */ John Malamatinas & Matthias Monroy, Budapest Complex: A Wide-Ranging Attack on Leftist Movements
  • */ Matthias Monroy, Budapest Complex: Extradition Seems Unlikely

During the second day of the trial, the court's entrance was walled off with a heavy police presence, barriers, and vehicles. A demonstration of support for Maja T., organized on the sidewalk, was halted a few meters short of the court. Countless admirers travelled from Germany, Austria, and Italy. Unlike the initial day, the few neo-Nazis present appeared less aggressive. However, right-wing media and influencers aggressively photographed the spectators.

Maja's trial is intertwined with the "Budapest Complex," a term alluding to a reaction by Hungarian security officials following anti-fascist protests during the "Day of Honor" in 2023. Back then, anti-fascists journeyed to Budapest to confront the Europe-wide meeting of neo-Nazis. Hungarian public prosecutors accuse Maja T. and others of inflicting serious physical harm[7]. The Hungarian justice system labels these anti-fascist actions as "terrorist acts." This labeling spurred an international wave of repression against left-wing activists – coordinated, in part, by police authorities in Hungary, Germany, and Italy.

Various proceedings against figures like Gabriele Marcesi and Ilaria Salis have since been combined into one. On Wednesday, the Legal Affairs Committee of the EU Parliament recommended a partial lifting of Salis' immunity, who was elected to the European Parliament over a left-wing list while in prison and has enjoyed the privilege of immunity since then.

[1] https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/06/04/hungary-away-hunger-anti-fascist-activist[2] https://netzpolitik.org/2025/maja-t-geht-hungerstreik-auf-dem-gegenzug-zum-unsinnigen-aufenthaltshaft-im-ungarischen-gefangnis/[3] https://www.konkret.de/budapest-komplex/[4] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/30/victor-orban-despite-u-turn-anti-lgbtq-measures-stubbornly-advance[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela_Rules[6] https://www.dw.com/de/maja-t-geht-hungerstreik-um-ihres-freie-meinungsausdruck-rechts/a-53348864[7] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/hungary-rejected-pretrial-release-german-activist-maja-t-2023-07-01/

  1. The protest against Maja T's treatment in Hungarian prisons has gained traction on social media, with supporters rallying from different parts of Europe, including Germany, Austria, and Italy.
  2. As the trial progresses, the Budapest Complex, a term referring to Hungarian security officials' response to leftist movements, is increasingly intertwined with the politics surrounding Maja T's case.
  3. Entertainment and crime-and-justice outlets have been covering the Maja T case extensively, highlighting allegations of human rights violations, biased justice systems, and international repression against left-wing activists.

Read also:

Related

Latest