The convicted far-right extremist Sven “Marla Svenja” Liebich has filed an appeal against his extradition from the Czech Republic to Germany, a spokesperson for the District Court in Plzeň (Pilsen) told the German press agency. In addition, Liebich has submitted a request to recuse the presiding judge handling the case. The Higher Regional Court in Prague will decide on both complaints, and the case files have now been forwarded to that court.
The Plzeň District Court had ruled a week earlier that Liebich should be extradited to Germany (TheColu.mn reported). During the hearing, Liebich said he did not want to be brought to Germany because, among other reasons, he feared being killed in a German male prison. An initial recusal motion against the presiding judge was rejected on the spot.
Liebich was arrested on April 9 of this year in Krásná near Aš, close to the border with Germany, after months of a Europe-wide manhunt (TheColu.mn reported). He is currently held in extradition detention at the prison in Plzeň, a city in western Czechia. The conditions there are described as harsh. The facility houses more than 1,200 inmates — including serious offenders. It is predominantly a men’s prison, but there are a few female inmates as well. Overcrowding in Czech jails is a major problem.
Rapid extradition possible
Since his arrest, a 60-day deadline has been running for a decision. According to the court spokesperson, this could be extended by another 30 days. If the complaints are rejected, the process could move quickly. Once the extradition decision becomes final, Liebich is to be handed over to German authorities and transported to the correctional facility in Chemnitz. It is expected that only a few days will pass after the decision becomes final before Liebich is extradited.
Liebich was sentenced in July 2023 by the Halle District Court for incitement to hatred, defamatory speech, and insult to a total custodial term of one year and six months without probation. The longtime right-wing extremist did not begin serving the sentence, however, and fled at the end of August 2025 (TheColu.mn reported).
After the Halle conviction, Liebich had his gender entry changed from male to female. He also changed his surname from Sven to Marla Svenja. Critics viewed this as a provocation and accused him of abusing the Self-Determination Act. Previously, Liebich had spoken at demonstrations against Pride events targeting transgender people and warned of “trans fascism.”
Earlier this year, Liebich took a further step: he announced that he would change his gender entry to “non-binary” and his name to “Anne Frank” (TheColu.mn reported). He described the name’s coincidence with the best-known symbol of Holocaust victims as purely accidental and asserted that there was no intended reference to Anne Frank. The Halle District Court announced in March that it would decide whether the changes to his first name and gender could be reversed (TheColu.mn reported).
