Members of US-targeted Antifa group go on trial in Germany

DRESDEN, Germany (Reuters) -Seven members of a left-wing group designated as a terrorist organisation by the U.S. government went on trial in Germany on Tuesday for charges including attempted murder in several attacks on the country's right-wing scene. 

"The defendants are alleged to have been members or supporters of an organisation founded in late 2017 or early 2018, whose members espouse extreme left-wing militant views," Meike Schaaf, a spokesperson for the court in the eastern city of Dresden, told Reuters.

She added they were accused of counts including attempted murder, grievous bodily harm, aggravated theft and property damage in several attacks until 2023 on people they regarded as fascists.

Earlier this month, Washington designated the group, which is known as Antifa Ost, and three other European groups as "Specially Designated Global Terrorists", accusing them of politically motivated violence. 

Germany's interior ministry has since said that the threat posed by the group has sharply diminished because its leaders and key militants have been arrested.

The broader Antifa movement, short for "anti-fascist", is decentralized and has no clear hierarchy or leadership.

A German government spokesperson at the time declined to comment on the U.S. designation, but said Washington acted independently.

Antifa Ost, also known as the "Hammer Gang" for its preferred attack weapon, operated as a far-left extremist network, according to the Interior Ministry.

The Dresden court said that hearings in the criminal proceedings have been scheduled well into 2027.

Prosecutors have said that among the seven defendants, six men and one woman, one person identified only as Johann G. in line with German privacy laws took a leading role, alongside another woman who had previously been convicted.

Johann G.'s defence lawyer did not have an immediate comment on the charges.

Investigators also link the network to a series of assaults during far-right commemorative events in Budapest in February 2023.

(Reporting by Petra Haverkamp and Miranda MurrayWriting by Ludwig BurgerEditing by Frances Kerry)