Italian activist detained in Hungary for over a year released after being elected as MEP

5 months ago 31

Ilaria Salis, an Italian anti-fascist activist on trial in Hungary for allegedly attacking neo-Nazis last year, returned to Italy on Saturday after being released from house arrest a few days earlier following her election as a member of the new European Parliament.

Italian teacher Ilaria Salis has now returned to Italy after being detained in Hungary for around 16 months.

Elected to the European Parliament with the Alliance of the Greens and the Left, Salis now enjoys parliamentary immunity, the very reason why the EU group put forward her candidacy, with the Alliance saying in mid-April that her candidacy aimed to “protect the rights and dignity of a European citizen”.

Salis’ case gained prominence last year after she appeared in a Hungarian court, handcuffed and shackled, sparking widespread protests in Italy and across Europe. She is accused of attacking far-right demonstrators during a neo-Nazi rally in Budapest. Salis has not been convicted, and her case is still pending.

After the election, Judge Jozsef Sos immediately granted her immunity without waiting for the official proclamation of her election to the European Parliament, which she secured with 176,000 votes from Alliance supporters.

This decision led to the suspension of her trial and the removal of the electronic bracelet she had been wearing since May, when she was transferred from prison to house arrest.

Her father, Roberto Salis, described the last 500 days as “a nightmare” that has finally “ended”.

“She had a very intense period of incarceration and endured torture. Now, she needs to rest, and it will take some time. We brought her back here after all the efforts we made,” he said, noting the significant tensions with the Italian government as Salis’s family repeatedly asked them to put pressure on the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

(Alessia Peretti | Euractiv.it)