The Higher Regional Court in the eastern German city of Dresden is set to begin hearing the case against seven alleged left-wing extremists on Tuesday morning.
The group is alleged to have carried out violent attacks on people from the far-right scene over several years. They are charged with crimes that include grievous bodily harm, attempted murder, membership of a criminal organization and damage to property.
The focus is primarily on a man named under German privacy laws as Johann G, who is believed to have held a leading position in the group. He was in hiding for a long time and was caught a year ago by investigators from the State Criminal Police Office for Saxony, of which Dresden is the capital.
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The mammoth trial now pending in Dresden, with hearings initially scheduled until the summer of 2027, is in fact a continuation of the case against a student identified as Lina E.
In 2023, she was sentenced to five years and three months in prison by the Dresden Higher Regional Court. Three co-defendants received lesser sentences. A key witness had incriminated them.
All are said to have belonged to the same group whose members are now on trial. The trial is being held under heightened security measures.
