Overview

• A nationwide search is underway after Liebich failed to report to the Chemnitz women’s prison by the 6 p.m. deadline on August 29, triggering an enforcement warrant, prosecutors said.
• Justice Minister Constanze Geiert urges revisions to the Selbstbestimmungsgesetz, proposing that prisons and criminal prosecution be excluded from its scope and advocating a review right for registrars in doubtful cases.
• Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt also calls for tightening the law, arguing the Liebich case shows it can be misused.
• Geiert and the Halle prosecutor defend the authorities’ approach, citing legal limits on preemptive custody and noting prior court compliance; Geiert says Liebich will likely be caught sooner or later.
• The self-determination law took effect in November 2024 to simplify legal gender and name changes, and supporters such as former Saxony justice minister Katja Meier argue the controversy reflects enforcement gaps rather than flaws in the statute.