German anti-fascist 'Nanuk' freed after 18 months in custody amid ongoing trial
Berlin Anti-Fascist "Nanuk" Freed After 18 Months in Custody
After a year and a half behind bars, Berlin anti-fascist Thomas J.—known by the nickname "Nanuk"—has been released. On Tuesday, a panel of judges at the Dresden Higher Regional Court, where the 49-year-old currently stands trial alongside six other left-wing activists, revoked his arrest warrant. A court spokesperson stated that the strong suspicion against Thomas J. of involvement in an alleged attack on a far-right extremist had dissolved.
His defense attorneys, Antonia von der Behrens and Einar Aufurth, welcomed the decision, stating they were pleased that Thomas J. "is free as of today." From the outset, they had argued that the allegations against their client were based solely on the speculations of a key witness—claims they said could "neither justify the arrest warrant nor support the indictment."
Thomas J. was first arrested in Berlin on October 21, 2024, by specialized investigative units. He and his six co-defendants in Dresden are accused of carrying out multiple attacks on far-right extremists in Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, and partly in Budapest, Hungary, as members of the so-called Antifa Ost group since 2018. Some victims sustained serious injuries. The federal prosecutor's office is leading the case, with the trial underway since last November. Among the defendants is Leipzig resident Johann G., alleged to be a co-leader of the group.
From the beginning, Thomas J. was only charged as a supporter. The oldest of the defendants by far, he is accused by prosecutors of organizing combat sports training for the group and participating in an October 2019 attack on Leon Ringl, a prominent far-right extremist from Eisenach. Ringl leads the far-right combat sports group Knockout 51 and owns a scene bar.
Key Witness Admits He Only Speculated About J.'s Involvement
The allegations against Thomas J. rested on testimony from a key witness: Berlin resident Johannes D. Expelled from left-wing circles in 2021 over rape allegations, D. subsequently cooperated with police, providing information about the group around Johann G. and implicating several alleged anti-fascist activists.
D. had already testified in an earlier Dresden trial against four left-wing defendants—including Leipzig resident Lina E., Johann G.'s former partner—helping secure convictions of up to five years and three months in May 2023.
Most recently, D. also took the stand in the current Dresden trial against Thomas J. and the six other defendants. According to defense attorney Antonia von der Behrens, D. now admitted that his statements about Thomas J.'s involvement in the alleged acts were merely assumptions, not based on direct knowledge. He claimed to have no further information about J. In response, the defense filed a motion to lift Thomas J.'s arrest warrant a week ago—a request the court has now granted.
At the start of the trial, Thomas J. dismissed the indictment as a "construct," calling it "unfair" that the case against him relied solely on the "speculations" of a key witness who was "socially and financially dependent on the investigating authorities." He also criticized the federal prosecutor's office for taking over the case, arguing that the alleged criminal organization had been "arbitrarily" assembled and that he and his co-defendants were being "stylized as enemies of the state." The prosecution, he said, equated anti-fascism exclusively with violence.
Militancy as Self-Defense
Before the trial began, our website visited Thomas J. in custody at Berlin's Moabit Prison. There, he described how he first became involved in anti-fascism in the early 1990s—as a teenager in Königs Wusterhausen, Brandenburg, threatened by far-right extremists. At the time, he said, right-wing violence was ubiquitous, yet the state failed to intervene. Even today, he argued, the state cannot be relied upon, making the role of anti-fascists all the more critical.
Three defendants—Johann G., Paul M., and Tobias E., the latter of whom our website also visited in custody—remain in detention as the Dresden trial continues. The proceedings are expected to last several more months. Meanwhile, a major trial is also underway at the Düsseldorf Higher Regional Court, where six young anti-fascists face charges of attacking far-right extremists in Budapest and Erfurt.
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