The Budapest Capital Regional Court of Appeal announced it will grant house arrest in Budapest to Ilaria Salis, a 39-year-old elementary teacher and left-wing activist from Monza, Italy due to the conditions of her imprisonment, local media confirmed on Wednesday. This defense motion was initially rejected by the Budapest Capital Regional Court on March 28.
Salis’s lawyer, Gyorgy Magyar reported to the Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata (ANSA) that the outcome is a “success,” noting that Salis will have to wear an ankle monitor and her father will be required to pay 40,000 EUR for the house arrest bail.
Ilaria Salis has spent the past 15 months in a Hungarian prison as she awaits trial for allegedly assaulting far-right neo-Nazi sympathizers during the annual “Day of Honour” celebrations. If convicted, she could face up to eleven years in prison.
The “Day of Honour” celebrations took place this year on Saturday, February 10 in Budapest, commemorating a failed breakout attempt by German and Hungarian troops in 1945, when the Soviet Red Army besieged the city. According to the European Parliament, the Hungarian Government has failed to impose an effective ban on the demonstration, even though it violates Hungarian law and threatens the security of Hungarian citizens.
According to Reuters, images of Salis being led into court with her feet and hands bound with a chain around her waist made the front pages of Italy’s newspapers in February and caused an outrage from the media and public, who called for Rome’s right-wing government to do more to help her.
An Italian Government Press Release stated that the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, Antonio Tajani, raised concerns over the detention conditions, including those of Ilaria Salis, with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, on February 28:
Tajani also provided his foreign peer with a new, detailed memo of Salis’ detention conditions and stressed the need to carry out a fair trial and ensure that Mrs Salis’ fundamental rights and dignity are protected, also through the support of the Italian Embassy in Budapest.
The European Parliament noted the “deplorable prison conditions,” including rats, insects and poor hygiene, stating further that in 2021 Hungary and Poland had the highest prisoner rates per 100,000 people in the EU.
In October last year, Salis wrote a letter condemning the deplorable conditions she experienced in prison. Upon her arrival, she was not given any personal hygiene items and was left without toilet paper, soap, or sanitary pads.
Salis has been nominated by the Italian Green and Left Alliance, to be their candidate on the European ballot, in agreement with her father Roberto, who is campaigning for her release. The Italian Greens and Left Alliance is running around 4% in opinion polls. The European election will take place June 6 – 9, 2024.
