Albanian-born activist Rexhino Abazaj faces imminent extradition from France to Germany, where he is wanted for charges of violent assault against neo-Nazi plaintiffs. One remaining hurdle was France’s Court of Cassation, which this Wednesday ruled in favor of a lower court’s ruling from last month that validated Berlin’s issuance of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW). Abazaj, better known as Gino among friends and allies, could now face up to ten years behind bars if he is convicted in Germany.

Beneath the procedural complexities, Gino’s case represents one front in a sprawling legal tug-of-war that began in Budapest back in February 2023. Taking to the streets of the Hungarian capital, he was among the scores of activists that counterprotested that year’s Day of Honor rally, one of the largest annual gatherings for Europe’s ultraright and neo-Nazi scenes.

The confrontation quickly degenerated into violent clashes, with the attendees and their antifa adversaries exchanging blows that resulted in several non-life-threatening injuries. According to the evidence cobbled together by Hungarian investigators, the injuries that Gino is purported to have caused resulted in eight days of work incapacity for the victims. For Gino’s supporters, that’s vastly disproportionate to the lengthy prison term he potentially faces should he be convicted in German court.