A regional court in western Czechia has ruled that German far-right extremist Marla-Svenja Liebich can be extradited to Germany to serve a prison sentence, in a case that has intensified debate over the country’s gender self-identification laws.
The Plzeň Regional Court announced its decision on Monday, clearing the way for Liebich’s handover to German authorities.
Court spokesman Jakub Štverák confirmed that Liebich has three days to appeal the verdict. Any appeal would be decided by the Higher Regional Court in Prague, and Czech prosecutors may also lodge one, according to Czech public broadcaster Radio Prague.
If no appeal is lodged, he is expected to be transferred within 10 days.
Liebich, formerly known as Sven Liebich, is a convicted neo-Nazi activist with links to groups such as Blood and Honour.
He also ran an online business selling products popular with xenophobes, such as baseball bats with the slogan “deportation assistant”. In 2022 he disrupted an LGBT pride march in Halle, branding participants “parasites on society”.
He was sentenced in Germany in July 2023 to one year and six months in prison for incitement to hatred, defamation, and insult.
Germany’s Self-Determination Act, which took effect on 1 November 2024 and was advocated by the Greens, enabled Liebich to legally change gender from male to female by the end of 2024.
The act, similar to laws in other Western countries, allows individuals to simply register a gender change at the civil registry office and update their identification documents.
Critics accuse him of exploiting the law to serve her sentence in a women’s prison and there are doubts on how sincere the gender change really is.
Liebich is a self-declared lesbian who combines women’s clothes witch a horseshoe moustache.
He announced he would sue anybody who “misgendered” him – which carries a fine of up to €10,000 in Germany.
Liebich also said “she” officially registered as a Jewish woman on her ID, and said she would file complaint against people defaming “my kosher diet and rabbinical guidance” because they were “trampling on my religion”.
Media and parts of the LGBT scene have accused Liebich of changing gender only to influence where his sentence was served.
He fled Germany while on the run and was arrested in the Czech village of Krásná in April 2026 under a European Arrest Warrant.
The case has sparked heated discussion in both countries about potential abuse of gender recognition rules and the rule of law.
German media and politicians have questioned whether such changes should influence prison placement for convicted extremists.
Liebich has previously stated he does not wish to be extradited. He repeated this in court, where he also filed a failed motion to have the presiding judge removed.
He appeared in court in Plzeň yesterday escorted by prison officers.
Meanwhile, the Self-Determination Act, which allowed Liebich to change his gender in the first place, is still in place, despite earlier claims by the now ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) that it would abolish it once in power.
Neonazi #Liebich soll an Deutschland ausgeliefert werden
Ein Bericht zum Prozesstag gegen Neonazi #Liebich im tschechischen Plzeň am 01.06.26 vom RTL NachtJournal: pic.twitter.com/idCeRQHfM8— Der Aufrichtige (@Der_Aufrichtige) June 1, 2026
