The ruling to transport him to Germany is in force. According to international regulations, Hungary can keep Mahler in custody until June 16 and is to set him free afterwards, should Germany not receive him until then.

Mahler was sentenced to 10 years of prison in 2009 for Holocaust denial in Germany. The sentence was suspended to allow the 81-year- old to receive medical treatment, and was to be resumed after the treatment was completed. Mahler, however, failed to comply with the rules of suspension, and travelled to Hungary.

The Hungarian authorities detained him as soon as he entered the country. Mahler first reached prominence as a founding member and lawyer in service of the Red Army Faction (RAF), a militant, far-left group in 1970’s Germany. He was sentenced to 14 years of prison for several crimes committed in league with RAF.

In the 1990s, however, Mahler turned from leftist ideologies to far-right extremism, and became a member of the neo-Nazi German National Democratic Party (NPD) in 2000. Since then, he has been sentenced by German courts for Holocaust denial on several occasions.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.