Since the 2023 Antifa attacks on innocent civilians in the streets of Budapest, 11 February—the Day of Honour—has taken on heightened significance in Hungary’s fight against progressive, far-left forces. The Antifa mob, consisting entirely of foreign nationals, targeted individuals in the Hungarian capital solely based on their assessment of the victims’ appearance as ‘far-right’. Among them was Ilaria Salis, an Antifa activist who has since become a MEP for the Italian far-left Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (AVS). Now using her parliamentary immunity to evade trial in Hungary, Salis remains at the centre of an ongoing war of words with Hungarian State Secretary for International Communication and Relations Zoltán Kovács—another chapter of which has unfolded as 11 February approaches.
Every year since 1997, various European far-right and nationalist groups from different countries gather to commemorate the Day of Honour in the Buda Castle District. The event marks the 1945 attempt by encircled German and Hungarian forces to break out of the besieged city, a moment that has become one of the most significant annual gatherings for the European far-right. The commemoration also includes a memorial hike between the castle and the Buda hills. However, this event invariably attracts the presence of aggressive far-left Antifa groups.
This year far-right groups were forced to hold their remembrance outside the Castle District, as registered Antifa protests were already underway. Fearing a repeat of the brutal attacks of 2023, the Hungarian government has significantly increased police presence in Budapest between 6 and 12 February. During these six designated days, the Készenléti Rendőrség (‘stand-by police’), the special law enforcement unit responsible for securing major events, has also been deployed in the capital.
On Saturday the far-left Austrian organization Grüppe für Organisierten Antifaschismus Wien (Group for Organized Anti-Fascism Vienna) shared a post about the Antifa counterprotest, which was attended, according to them, by more than 400 people. The statements in the post alone would merit an article on how Antifa distorts reality and plays the victim—despite the fact that their attacks nearly killed one of their most seriously injured victims, László Dudog, who later spoke to the Italian media about the horrific incident.
The organization claims that ‘anti-fascists have been persecuted since attacking militant neo-Nazis around Honour Day in 2023, treated like felons, and imprisoned under catastrophic conditions in Hungarian custody.’ While lamenting an alleged ‘international wave of repression’ against Antifa—an issue that is virtually nonexistent, especially in Western European countries—, they simultaneously call for the ‘freedom of all antifascists’.
Salis, who was arrested by Hungarian authorities following the 2023 attacks and held in pre-trial detention before being placed under house arrest, shared the Antifa group’s post, stating: ‘While yesterday, in Budapest, neo-Nazis staged their usual shameful Honour Day rally, there are still those who, despite repression, resist and fight to affirm the values of anti-fascism.’
Ilaria Salis’ case sparked a major diplomatic row between Hungary and Italy at the time, with Italian and European left-wing media accusing Hungary of breaching human rights—based exclusively on Salis’ own allegations. The Italian Antifa activist falsely claimed that she was prohibited from contacting her parents, complained about being led into the courtroom in handcuffs and shackles—a standard procedure under Hungarian law—, and criticized hygiene conditions in detention. These accusations came from the same person who, upon her arrest, lied to Hungarian authorities about even the most basic details of her personal identity—just to recall, she is now a sitting Member of the European Parliament.
Responding to Salis’ post about the Antifa counterprotests on Sunday, Zoltán Kovács shared photos of the horrific injuries sustained by the victims of the 2023 attacks, including severe head wounds. The state secretary emphasized that Salis should be in prison for what she and her accomplices did in Budapest. In a follow-up post, Kovács shared an AI-generated image of Salis behind bars with an eerie grin—mirroring the expression she displayed during her first trial.
Salis responded with a lengthy post portraying herself as an innocent victim, claiming that the Hungarian government attacks her for every statement she makes. She accused Hungary of being an authoritarian system, stating that in ‘Orbán’s illiberal democracy, political opponents cannot raise their voices without facing retaliation.’
‘Every time I speak out, whether in Parliament or in the media, I am systematically attacked by members of the Hungarian government or their far-right allies. And they do not stop at insults—they go so far as to demand exemplary punishment,’ Salis wrote in outrage. What she conveniently omitted, however, is the fact that Hungarian government spokespersons only respond when she falsely accuses Hungary of serious human rights abuses. And there has been no shortage of such accusations.
Back in October, during the European Parliament’s debate on Hungary’s EU presidency and its programme—attended by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—Salis joined progressives and leftists in launching baseless attacks against Hungary. The session quickly devolved into a political mudslinging, led by European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen herself. Salis joined in, echoing unfounded allegations that were swiftly refuted by Orbán in his response.
Salis frequently uses X as a platform to criticize the Hungarian government. In fact, her very first post on Elon Musk’s social media platform accused Hungary of violating her fundamental rights due to her political beliefs ‘as an antifascist’ while she was in custody and under house arrest. Ironically, the Italian Antifa activist-turned-MEP now sits as a member of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee in the European Parliament.
However, there is a simple way for Salis to clear her name once and for all: as Zoltán Kovács pointed out, the Antifa MEP—currently hiding behind parliamentary immunity—should face justice like any other citizen. ‘Spare us the lectures on democracy—Hungary upholds the rule of law, and no amount of melodrama will change the facts,’ Kovács wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Salis’ accomplices recently turned themselves in to German authorities at the end of January, as reported by Hungarian Conservative. However, they continue to push the same false narrative as Salis, requesting not to be extradited to Hungary. They argue that Hungary is a ‘right-wing authoritarian regime’ with ’inhumane conditions’ in its prison system, and that extraditing them would amount to ‘a violation of their basic human rights’. They also fear facing a prison sentence of up to 24 years and claim that the legal proceedings in Hungary would not meet European rule-of-law standards.
To top it all off, according to the far-right Hungarian outlet Szent Korona Rádió (Holy Crown Radio), despite the increased police presence over the weekend, three masked attackers assaulted a bald man—often stereotypically associated with being a neo-Nazi—at a bus stop in one of Budapest’s busiest squares. Eyewitnesses reported that the assailants exited an unmarked car, crept up from behind, struck the victim, and kicked him repeatedly while he was lying on the ground.
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