Ilaria Salis, the 39-year-old teacher from Milan, Italy who was arrested for attacking purported attendees of a far-right rally in Budapest, Hungary in February 2023, could be released from jail ahead of her trial. The alleged violent perp has reportedly accepted her nomination by the Italian Greens and Left Alliance party for the upcoming European Parliamentary elections in June, which, her lawyer argues, would grant her immunity.
Salis acted as a member of the infamous Antifa group, who routinely engages in violence to enforce its political will, despite being self-proclaimed anti-fascists. During their February 2023 rampage, they targeted people based on their clothing alone: Salis and about a dozen of her accomplices beat up a local tobacco shop worker in his 40s, causing grave bodily injuries to him.
Despite the heinous act—which also has clear video evidence—some in the international media ran stories about the ‘injustice’ and ‘cruelty’ of the conditions in the Hungarian prison where she is held. She complained of bug and rodent infestation in her cell; as well as being led to court appearances in handcuffs and leg chains. There has been a push for her release by progressive activists ever since.
And now, it seems they might get their wish at last.
She was originally considered by the Democratic Party in Italy, a major centre-left party currently holding 68 seats in the lower chamber of the Italian Parliament and 38 Senate seats in the upper chamber. However, Salis was likely deemed too controversial for mainstream appeal, so she is now being nominated by the far-left Greens and Left Alliance. They only have 11 seats in the Chamber of Deputies and four seats in the Senate.
In their statement, the Greens and Left alliance claim Salis’ nomination ‘aims to protect the rights and dignity of a European citizen [and] also from the inertia of the Italian authorities to obtain a rapid release from prison in favour of house arrest,’ as cited by The Guardian.
Her Hungarian lawyer argues that she does not need to actually win a seat in the European Parliament to get immunity. György Magyar claims that simply filing for candidacy will grant her immunity, although those claims are not backed up by precedent.
What is clear, however, is that
should she win a seat in the European Parliament in June, she will be granted immunity as an MEP and will have to be released.
The Hungarian government is asking the European Parliament to revoke her immunity by vote if she is elected, a procedure that does have precedent. In January 2023, two MEPs caught up in the ‘Qatargate’ corruption scandal had their immunities voided that way. Also, in March 2021, three Catalonian MEPs had the same happen to them for being involved in the unauthorized referendum on the independence of their region.
So, Ilaria Salis can get away without being tried and convicted for her alleged violent acts. One of her collaborators is already free: in March, the Milan appellate court denied the Hungarian authorities’ request to extradite Gabriele Marchesi, and also released him from house arrest.
Related articles:
