A convicted German transgender right-wing extremist, who has been on the run for months, has been arrested in the Czech Republic. Liebich was arrested on the basis of a European arrest warrant in Krásná in the east of the country, some 100km (62 miles) east of the capital, Prague. In August 2025, Marla-Svenja Liebich, formerly known as Sven, failed to appear at the prison in the German town of Chemnitz, where she was to serve an 18-month jail term.
German media reports say Liebich used to be a member of a neo-Nazi group called Blood and Honour. In July 2023, 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 the sentence and lost. At the time she was known as Sven Liebich.
A spokesperson for the Halle public prosecutor's office told the BBC that Liebich was now in custody in the Czech Republic. Liebich is expected to be extradited to Germany. At the end of 2024, Liebich had her gender entry in official records changed from male to female and changed her first name, following Germany's Self-Determination Act. This Act had just come into force and strengthened the rights of transgender people, allowing them to change gender markers and first names through a simple declaration at a registry office.
German media have questioned whether Liebich's transition was serious. Last year, the Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt accused Marla-Svenja Liebich of abusing the Self-Determination Act, stating that the gender change appeared to be a clear case of abuse. According to reports, Liebich was wearing men's clothing and had a shaved head at the time of the arrest, and it is understood she briefly tried to evade capture. The spokesperson for the Halle public prosecutor's office has not commented on Liebich's appearance.
German media reports say Liebich used to be a member of a neo-Nazi group called Blood and Honour. In July 2023, 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 the sentence and lost. At the time she was known as Sven Liebich.
A spokesperson for the Halle public prosecutor's office told the BBC that Liebich was now in custody in the Czech Republic. Liebich is expected to be extradited to Germany. At the end of 2024, Liebich had her gender entry in official records changed from male to female and changed her first name, following Germany's Self-Determination Act. This Act had just come into force and strengthened the rights of transgender people, allowing them to change gender markers and first names through a simple declaration at a registry office.
German media have questioned whether Liebich's transition was serious. Last year, the Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt accused Marla-Svenja Liebich of abusing the Self-Determination Act, stating that the gender change appeared to be a clear case of abuse. According to reports, Liebich was wearing men's clothing and had a shaved head at the time of the arrest, and it is understood she briefly tried to evade capture. The spokesperson for the Halle public prosecutor's office has not commented on Liebich's appearance.
