Fugitive Who Changed Gender Arrested in Czech Republic

According to Der Spiegel, right-wing extremist Marla-Svenja Liebich, who has changed gender and had been on the run for a prolonged period, was arrested in the Czech Republic on the basis of a European arrest warrant. The arrest was confirmed by Dennis Cernota, a prosecutor in the German city of Halle.

Liebich is now awaiting extradition to Germany and remains in custody. A manhunt lasting several months had been underway after the sentence was not served.

In July 2023, Halle District Court sentenced Liebich to one year and six months in prison for incitement to hatred, defamation and insult. Both the appeal and a subsequent review of the sentence were rejected.

Liebich was due to begin serving the sentence by the end of August 2025 at the latest but did not report to the women’s prison in Chemnitz. After the failure to appear, police and prosecutors issued an arrest warrant and launched a nationwide manhunt. Liebich later wrote on the social network X that he was abroad.

(max)