On Wednesday, the judgment in the so-called “Antifa Ost” trial was spoken before the Higher Regional Court in Dresden. Several anti-fascists were accused of forming a “criminal association” that is said to have committed attacks against fascist forces. Members of the far right-wing scene in Leipzig, Wurzen and Eisenach are said to have been “brutally beaten up”. The supposed victims were the squads of the young nationalists and the identitarian fascist movement.
Lina E., was accused of being the “mastermind” of the anti-fascist Leipzig group by the Federal prosecutor’s office, who asked for a prison sentence of eight years. She was sentenced to five years and three months in prison for taking part in a series of attacks on neo-Nazis and other fascists over a period of two years.
Three other antifascists, Lennart A, Jannis R and Jonathan M, are alleged to have joined forces with her by the end of 2019. The men were sentenced to between 27 months and 39 months in prison.
Concrete evidence was in short supply during the trial; instead the political conviction of the accused was decisive.
Lina E has been in custody since her arrest on November 5, 2020. The other suspects have remained free.
Among the attacks she was accused of helping orchestrate was a 2020 incident, in which antifascists beat a group of six fascists returning from a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the firebombing of Dresden.
The event regularly attracts neo-Nazis and other fascists.
In the run-up to the trial, the accused have always received broad support from the anti-fascist movement. A nationwide demonstration against the persecution of the anti-fascist movement in Leipzig is planned for Saturday, which will begin at 5 p.m. in Wolfgang-Heinze-Strasse.