German authorities have launched the country’s first legal attempt to reverse a gender change after accusing a convicted neo-Nazi activist of abusing self-identification laws that would have seen him locked up in a women's prison.
The case involves Marla-Svenja Liebich, formerly Sven Liebich, and is being pursued by the Saalekreis district administration in Merseburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, with proceedings initiated at Halle District Court in December 2025.
Officials from the Saalekreis district said they filed a legal request asking the court to correct Liebich’s registered gender entry and name change after questioning whether the activist genuinely identifies as female.
Picture shows Svenja Liebich, known as Sven Liebich, undated. He has been sentenced to one year in a women's correctional facility in Chemnitz, Germany. Note: Image is a screenshot from video. (Newsflash/NX)
According to the district administration, the move followed internal assessments suggesting the change may have been intended to “delegitimise” the Self-Determination Act and provoke the state.
Liebich, 55, used Germany’s Self-Determination Act, which came into force in November 2024, to change the legal gender entry to female and adopt the name Marla-Svenja.
The activist had previously been convicted in 2023 of incitement to hatred and other offences and sentenced to 18 months in prison without parole.
Following the legal gender change, Liebich requested to serve the sentence in a women’s prison.
Authorities later summoned Liebich to begin the prison term at the Chemnitz correctional facility in August 2025, but the activist failed to appear and has since been listed as wanted.
Officials say Liebich is believed to be abroad.
Picture shows Sven Liebich, undated. He now calls himself Marla-Svenja. Note: Image is a screenshot from video. (NF/newsX)
The Saalekreis district said it doubts that Liebich no longer identifies as male and cited earlier speeches and social media posts as part of the evidence submitted to the court.
The case is believed to be the first in Germany in which authorities have sought to legally reverse a change to a person’s gender entry.
Under the Self-Determination Act, people who do not identify with their gender assigned at birth can change their registered gender and first names through a declaration at a registry office.
The decision on whether Liebich’s gender entry will be reversed now lies with Halle District Court, and it is not yet clear when the case could be heard.
(Aloysius Fernandes /Newsflash)