A controversy has broken out in Germany about whether a trans right-wing extremist should serve a prison sentence in a women’s or a men’s facility.In July 2023, Marla-Svenja Liebich was sentenced by the Halle District Court in Saxon-Anhalt to a total of one year and six months in prison without parole for extreme right incitement to hatred, defamation, and insult. Liebich appealed against her sentence and lost.At the time she was known as Sven Liebich. German media reports say Liebich used to be a member of a neo-Nazi group called Blood and Honour.At the end of 2024, Liebich had her gender entry in official records changed from male to female. She also changed her first name. The basis for this was Germany’s Self-Determination Act, which had just come into force and strengthened the rights of transgender people. The Act allows people to change their gender marker and first name through a simple declaration at a registry office, instead of a judicial ruling.German media have questioned whether Liebich’s change was serious.”Whether the change is serious is doubtful,” wrote Der Spiegel. “Liebich has been known for years for her right-wing extremist views and has also made queerphobic statements in the past.”Liebich has taken legal action against media outlets for what she considers to be false representations of her gender identity.A complaint against Spiegel to the Press Council was unanimously rejected by the Council as unfounded. Spiegel said the letter said it was likely that Liebich “made the change of civil status in an abusive manner in order to provoke and embarrass the state”.Liebich will shortly begin her prison term.The Chief Public Prosecutor in Halle, Dennis Cernota told German public broadcaster MDR in Saxony-Anhalt that Liebich would serve her prison sentence at the Chemnitz women’s prison.Liebich confirmed t …
