Guntermann was apprehended by a mobile unit of the Saxony State Police (LKA) between Jena and Weimar. Guntermann is scheduled to stand trial before the Federal Supreme Court, Bild reports, In September 2023, the Federal Prosecutor and the LKA set a €10,000 reward for turning in Germany's most wanted far-left activist. Guntermann was already a central figure in the Hammer Gang back in 2018, according to the Federal Prosecutor's Office, and has been in hiding since 2020.
The federal prosecutor's office states that the gang is part of a criminal organization that rejects the rule of law.
Speaking to Bild after the arrest, Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) highlighted the police action an outstanding achievement, adding that the man was one of the most wanted left-wing extremists, with several warrants out for his arrest. Schuster also thanked the Saxony LKA for the exceptional work. According to a statement from the LKA, the suspect is allegedly involved in several politically motivated assaults,
resulting in many of their victims suffering serious injuries.
He tattooed the words "Hate" and "Cops" on Guntermann's fingers. In 2018, he was sentenced to 19 months in prison for aggravated assault, including throwing stones at the court building in Leipzig. He was also involved in an attack on a neo-Nazi bar, as well as an attack in Budapest in February in which eight German far-leftists armed with baseball bats and tear gas, ambushed several people, seriously injuring them. Saxon investigators had reportedly immediately recognized him on the footage.
Ilaria Salis, European Parliament member
A member of Guntermann's gang, she later became an MEP, making full use of the immunity that comes with the position. As reported earlier, Salis took part in the bloody attack on the streets of Budapest in broad daylight. The brutal ambush was captured by security cameras. The alliance of Italian Greens and Leftists, which nominated Ilaria Salis, won 6.7% of the votes in the European Parliamentary elections. A special investigative unit has been set up by the Budapest Police Headquarters to investigate the series of crimes. Zoltan Kovacs, state secretary for international communications also spoke out on the case.
Since mid-February, Ilaria Salis' father, Roberto Salis, has been touring the European media saying that he is "concerned" about his daughter's safety as long as she is in Hungary. Therefore, they applied for house arrest in Italy, about which FM Szijjarto said that "it will be decided by the court, which is an independent body,
the state secretary posted on X.
The Hungarian government is working toward having Salis's immunity waived in order to continue the ongoing legal proceedings against her in Hungary. At the same time, a political debate is raging in Italy over the activist's role, with left-wing circles elevating her case to a symbol of "resistance to fascism". The Salis affair is becoming increasingly political, and reflective of the ideological clash between the European Parliament's left-wing and the Hungarian government.
Salis calls on her fellow MEPs to consider only the credibility and core values of the EU when deciding on her immunity, not party politics.
Cover photo: Ilaria Salis in a discussion, talking about the events experienced in Budapest. (Photo: AFP)
