Overview
- The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe provisionally set aside the Oberlandesgericht Dresden order, so Lina E. is free while the court considers her constitutional complaint; the interim stay can last up to six months.
- The OLG Dresden had ordered up to six months of Beugehaft after Lina E. refused to give testimony in the ongoing Antifa-Ost proceeding and also fined her €750 for refusing to cooperate.
- Her lawyer filed a Verfassungsbeschwerde in Karlsruhe after the Federal Court of Justice rejected her earlier appeal, prompting the Constitutional Court to register open constitutional questions about compulsion and liberty.
- Lina E. was convicted in May 2023 of dangerous bodily harm and membership in the militant left-wing Hammer‑Bande, received a sentence of five years and three months and was released on probation after serving about two thirds.
- The decision protects her immediate liberty and could shape future limits on Beugehaft by asking whether German courts may constitutionally punish refusal to testify, with potential effects on how prosecutors secure witness evidence and on the OLG Dresden proceedings once the high court rules.