Images of an Italian woman being shackled and chained at a court hearing in Budapest have sparked a huge debate in Italy, with leaders urged to do something about the situation, even though her family say they have already complained about the conditions of her year-long detention.
Ilaria Salis, a 39-year-old Italian teacher, is being held in Hungary on charges of assaulting two right-wing extremists. Images of her appearing in court in chains have sparked debate.
While the left-wing opposition parties have already called on the Meloni government to take action, the Hungarian charge d’affaires was summoned to the Italian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday morning, reiterating Italy’s opposition to the teacher’s arrest.
Tajani (Forza Italia/EPP) spoke of the woman’s “inadmissible and disproportionate treatment” without attacking the Hungarian government led by Viktor Orban, an ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (Fratelli d’Italia/ECR).
“If we want to talk on the point of law, Orban has nothing to do with it. It’s not the government that decides the process. It’s the judiciary,” the minister said.
“The issue is whether the rules were respected before or after; it is not that we can intervene; Hungary is a sovereign state. We can only protest because she is being held there for a hypothetical crime committed there (…) and to make sure that there is respect for the treatment of the detainee,” he added.
Salis has been detained in Budapest for almost a year, accused of attacking two Hungarian right-wing extremists with a baton during a demonstration in Budapest in February last year. She faces up to 24 years in prison and has always maintained her innocence.
Tajani denied having any knowledge of the woman’s detention conditions, although her father said – on the Fourth Republic programme on Rete4 – that he had reported everything to the Italian embassy some time ago.
Italy’s left-wing opposition asked Meloni to inform the Italian parliament urgently about the Salis case – a request backed by Lega (ID) and Forza Italia. Meloni is in an awkward position, given her long-standing ties with Orban and her repeated praise of the government in Budapest.
Italian Ambassador Guariglia has called for Salis to be granted pre-trial detention by European law, including alternatives to prison, as soon as possible. The option of house arrest in Italy or Hungary is on the table, and the woman’s lawyers also intend to prove that the Hungarian prison regime is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
(Federica Pascale | Euractiv.it)
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