The Left Is Already Rewriting the Facts of the Antifa Case in Favor of the Perpetrators

Tamás Lipták of Magyar Jelen offers a sharp critique of Harrison Stetler's article published in The Nation, which was subsequently translated into Hungarian by HVG.   

“More than a dozen activists are being sought. Among them, the latest target is the Albanian-born Rexhino Abajaz, or Gino for short, who has spent most of his life in Italy and Finland. 

Last November, he was arrested in a Paris suburb, and if extradited, he faces a harsh legal battle. He could receive up to 16 years in prison, since the justice system has abandoned its core standards during Orbán’s 15-year tenure, especially in criminal procedure law. As similar trials have taken on the character of show trials, the man’s supporters fear he won’t have a chance to prove his innocence,”  HVG explains.

Anyone remotely informed about Hungarian current affairs would recognize this as the 2023 Antifa case. Yet again, The Nation’s woefully uninformed Harrison Stetler, an “American progressive,” attempts to analyze Hungarian antifascism—this time with a misguided plea for sympathy. HVG, in turn, lent credibility to this subpar, human-rights-washed piece by republishing it in Hungarian. 

This highly inaccurate piece frames the so-called persecution of antifascists under Orbán’s “fascist dictatorship” as follows: 

“The question now is whether the courts of the member states give the green light to the Fidesz-led hunt against antifascist activists.”

Excuse me? Since when is identifying and holding criminals accountable a “Fidesz-led hunt”? But let’s move on—if this is meant as an opening, it’s a poor one, even by low standards. 

“[Stetler's] article revisits the clashes that occurred about two years ago at the far-right Day of Honor event in Budapest.” 

Clashes? The woefully uninformed author is likely referring to the 15–20 masked antifascists who ambushed individuals from behind on the streets of Budapest, using weapons, solely based on their perceived or actual political beliefs. Together with HVG, the author shamelessly downplays this brutal assault—where rubber hammers and batons struck skulls and flesh—as a mere “clash.” These victims were not even given a minimal chance to defend themselves, far from the actual commemoration in both time and space. 

For the record, in the nearly 30-year history of the commemoration, police have never had to intervene due to violence or legal violations—not even under left-wing administrations. 

“Left-wingers were also drawn to Budapest, coming to voice their opposition,” as Stetler phrases. 

I can somewhat understand that Stetler, writing from Paris, frames it this way. But when HVG’s anonymous editor reviewed and translated this—excuse me—crap, did they not, for a moment, sense that something was off? Or does HVG now consider ambushing people from behind with batons, pepper spray, and rubber-hammers a legitimate form of expressing disapproval? 

The picture shows the moment when leftists “voice their opposition” of an event—only it happened neither at the event’s location nor on the event’s day, nor by striking a participant with a baton, and with nothing else matching either.

HVG states the following based on Stetler's writing: “Two years ago, indeed—at least according to the Hungarian government's communication—they inflicted ‘life-threatening injuries’ to the presumed neo-Nazis.” 

So, if the Hungarian government’s narrative isn’t true, does that mean it’s acceptable to inflict non-life-threatening injuries on alleged neo-Nazis? Did Stetler and the HVG staff member even bother to look at the injury reports we published a year ago? Did they review the video and photo evidence of the attacks? Or do they dismiss those as mere “government propaganda” and ignore them entirely? Because anyone who actually looks at the footage can see that it was sheer luck no one was killed. 

“Their opinion is confirmed by Ilaria Salis, who was held accountable in Hungary for the same case, and beyond the dire prison conditions, she says antifascists cannot expect a fair trial in today’s Hungary.” 

How is it fair to ambush someone from behind with a baton and beat them in the open street? How is it justifiable to assault people to the brink of death—only for the attackers to suddenly rebrand themselves as a simple Milanese teacher or a German university student when facing the consequences of their terrorist act? 

Let’s be clear: prison is not a hotel. Those who commit such brutal crimes—beating people nearly to death in broad daylight, in groups, simply for their views—will rot in prison, and not just in Hungary. No matter whether the male perpetrator identifies as female, pink elephant, or anything else. 

“European governments have largely balked on intervening to prevent Orbán’s politically motivated roundup of leftist activists,” as the words of the original author say.

What needs to be prevented? That criminals are getting caught who—as shown in the actual recordings—band together and brutally beat unsuspecting people? Because in this entire concoction they dare to call an article, neither The Nation nor HVG bothers to mention it at all. 

“Let’s make a clean sweep of the past”—so goes the old leftist slogan. HVG and Stetler are such dedicated leftists that they aren’t even waiting for history to fade; they are already trying to erase, in real time, what actually happened in Budapest in February 2023. But we will not let that happen.