'From Moscow with love': German neo-Nazi Liebich is reportedly seeking asylum in the USA

An arrest warrant has been issued for neo-Nazi Marla-Svenja Liebich, formerly Sven Liebich, who failed to start a prison sentence at Chemnitz women's prison.

Liebich is reported to have fled abroad, police confirmed, claiming this had become evident from an audio recording that was played outside the women's prison. A spokeperson said around 60 supporters gathered outside the prison for a "housewarming party" planned by Liebich.

Since the escape, Liebich has been very active on social media.

"Nobody knew about my decision - no lawyer, no family," Liebich wrote on X, attaching a photo of a poster portraying Liebich in front of the St. Basil's Cathedral, with accompanying text reading "From Moscow with Love, James Bond" and the hashtag #runningwoman.

In another post, the far-right extremist again referenced Russia.

"A real advantage: even as a little girl, I went to a school with extended Russian lessons, [...] Now I realise how much of that is still deep in my head," Liebich wrote.

The neo-Nazi then announced on X that Liebich was "on the territory of the Russian Federation" and was talking to "officials close to the Kremlin."

Liebich disclosed her plan was to apply for asylum in the US from there, where "interest has been expressed," the extremist said.

Potential abuse of Germany's new 'self-declaration' law

In July 2023, Liebich, who was then still known as Sven, was sentenced to one and half years' imprisonment without parole for right-wing extremist activities, including incitement to hatred, defamation, and insult.

A year and half later, Liebich took advantage of Germany's new law, called the Self-Determination Act, which makes it easier for trans and non-binary people to have their gender entry and name changed.

Liebich then used the new self-identification to request serving the sentence in a women's facility, sparking widespread controvery. Before changing gender and first name, Liebich disrupted an LGBTQ+ pride parade in the city of Halle, and had called queer people "parasites of society."

Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU) accused Liebich of abusing the regulation. "The judiciary, the public and politicians are being made fools of here," he told local media. Dobrindt now wants to better protect the Self-Determination Act from abuse.

"We now need a debate on how to re-establish clear rules against the abuse of gender reassignment," he concluded.

UN expert on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, had also warned of the dangers for women and girls when the law passed.

Women who are affected by male violence are particularly at risk, she said. Protective measures to rule out abuse of the law by perpetrators of violence were simply lacking.

Women's shelters, changing rooms or shared toilets would therefore no longer be shelters. The federal government had rejected the criticism.