A major trial of alleged members of the far-left extremist group known as the ‘Hammer Gang’ (Hammerbande) is set to begin Tuesday at the Higher Regional Court in Dresden.
Among the defendants are the group’s leaders, Johann Guntermann and Paul M., who face charges of membership in or support of a far-left criminal organization as well as attempted murder. The trial had been postponed several times, with the latest delay due to the unavailability of the defense.
Guntermann, long identified as a key figure in the gang alongside Lina Engel, is accused of carrying out violent attacks in Germany and Budapest. Several left-wing extremists allegedly attacked innocent passers-by in Budapest, targeting people they assumed had taken part in a right-wing memorial march. Victims were bludgeoned with hammers and telescopic batons, with some sustaining life-threatening injuries.
The gang has a documented history of violence, including a series of hammer attacks between 2018 and 2020 in Leipzig, Wurzen, and Eisenach. In May 2023, Lina Engel and three other members were convicted by the Dresden Higher Regional Court for violent assaults and sentenced to more than five years in prison.
Much of what is known about the group’s structure and methods has come from Johannes Domhöver, a former member who later became an informant. Domhöver has testified that the gang organised “projects” targeting individuals in daily life and rapid “exit” assaults near demonstrations, using hammers to inflict “massive” and lasting injuries.
In June 2025, Germany’s Federal Prosecutor filed charges against seven alleged members of a left-wing extremist group linked to Engel. The charges include attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, aggravated theft, and property damage.
Italian MEP Ilaria Salis—accused by Hungarian authorities of involvement in the Budapest attacks—joined the European Parliament last year as part of Italy’s Greens and Left Alliance, gaining parliamentary immunity. On October 7th, 2025, members of the European Parliament voted to maintain her immunity, preventing her trial in Hungary for her alleged involvement in the 2023 attacks.
Salis had been arrested and imprisoned in Hungary in 2023, but the EP vote effectively shielded her from prosecution, drawing criticism from figures like Italian Lega MEP Isabella Tovaglieri, who called it “a terrible image for the European Union.”
