Marla-Svenja Liebich, a long‑time right‑wing extremist and former leader of the "Blood and Honor" neo‑Nazi group, was convicted in 2023 of incitement to racial hatred, defamation and other crimes. After exhausting legal appeals she was sentenced to 18 months in jail and a Saxony court ordered her to begin serving the sentence. Weeks after the Self‑Determination Act took effect in November 2024, Liebich legally changed her registered gender to female. Prosecutors say she has two weeks to present herself or face additional prison consequences and the assigned facility is the JVA Women's Prison in Chemnitz. Politicians and activists allege potential exploitation of the law and calls for reevaluation have been made by CSU and CDU figures.
In 2023, Liebich was found guilty of incitement to racial hatred and defamation, among other crimes. Last year, having exhausted all legal avenues to avoid prison, she was sentenced to serve 18 months in jail. And then, just weeks after a new national gender identity law was introduced in November 2024, Liebich legally registered as a woman. Last week, a judge in the eastern state of Saxony ordered her to begin serving her sentence.
Progressive activists and Germany's new conservative-led government alike suspect Liebich of having made use of a new law to get better prison conditions by being placed in a women's prison. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt of the Christian Social Union (CSU) has already decided to reevaluate the new Self-Determination Act, telling Stern magazine that the Liebich case could set a bad precedent for abuse by extremists seeking to mock the government.
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