A German national socialist and hate crime offender has legally changed gender to female and will therefore serve his prison sentence at one of the country's women's prisons.
53-year-old Sven Liebich, now Marla-Svenja, is exploiting a new law that makes it possible to "change gender" by simply filling out a form with the authorities.
It was in July 2023 that Sven Liebich was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for the hate speech crimes of incitement against ethnic groups, defamation and insult. But when it came time to serve the sentence, something had changed – Sven had become Marla-Svenja.
Through Germany's new self-determination law, which came into force in November last year, Liebich only needed to make a simple notification to the civil registry in Schkeuditz to officially change gender and first name. No court, no medical certificates – just a personal declaration.
According to German media, Liebich showed up in court wearing a leopard-print top, large hat, makeup and carrying a handbag. The new Marla-Svenja argued that the gender change was necessary to avoid "discrimination" in a male prison.
The ironic aspect of the situation is that Liebich still wears a mustache when appearing publicly in women's clothing – something that has caused great anger and frustration among liberals and left-wing activists.
They have also pointed out that the 53-year-old has previously burned Pride flags and described transgender people as "parasites," and argue that the legal gender change is just a way to mock the new law and troll the German justice system.
Those who write "Sven Liebich is not a woman" have clearly not understood the self-ID law (which we also have i Norway).
The law sets no criteria whatsoever for a man to become a "woman". The fact that he is a nazi has got nothing to do with his right to say he is a "woman". >> pic.twitter.com/FMriKtOpvM— Kamilla Aslaksen (@KamillaAslaksen) August 21, 2025
Women's prison in Chemnitz
Now Marla-Svenja Liebich will serve her sentence at the women's prison in Chemnitz in the German state of Saxony. The decision is based, according to the prosecutor's office, on two clear criteria: the officially registered gender (female) and the civil registry address.
Saxony's justice department notes, however, that additional psychological or medical assessments may be used in the future if there are suspicions that someone has intentionally changed gender identity to influence their prison conditions.
When the German self-determination law was introduced, critics warned that people would change legal gender for purely tactical reasons – to gain advantages rather than due to gender dysphoria or other mental health issues.
Liebich is hardly alone in exploiting the law, but his political background has made the case particularly noteworthy. It has also exposed an ironic paradox: Those who normally claim that everyone has the right to define their own gender – and be treated accordingly – now seem to argue that Liebich specifically, because of his political views, should not be covered by this right.
