Ilaria Salis spent 15 months in a Budapest cell accused of attacking far-right protesters earlier than successful immunity after her election to the European Parliament final June.
Hungary has requested the European Parliament to elevate the immunity of Ilaria Salis, an Italian MEP, detained in Hungary on costs of attacking right-wing activists.
The matter was raised by Hungarian MEPs from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz occasion throughout a plenary session in Strasbourg.
European Parliament President Roberta Metsola mentioned Hungary’s request had been forwarded to the Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee, the place it could be mentioned.
Salis was convicted of three counts of tried assault towards far-right demonstrators throughout a protest in Budapest in February 2023 – a cost she has persistently denied.
She spent 15 months in jail in Budapest earlier than being granted home arrest. She was then provided automated launch and immunity after being elected as an MEP for the Green Left Alliance following June’s European Parliament elections.
The former instructor sparked a diplomatic row between Hungary and Italy after she was photographed attending court docket in Budapest together with her arms and ft shackled in January 2024 – a apply Hungary insisted was normal.
The Italian ministers then summoned the Hungarian ambassador out of concern for Salis and the circumstances in jail.
Salis, who had beforehand argued that his sentence was disproportionate, mentioned of Hungary’s request: “The minimal circumstances for a good trial to happen in Hungary don’t exist.”
“I hope that Parliament chooses to defend the rule of regulation and human rights with out giving in to the conceitedness of an ‘intolerant democracy’ in autocratic drift which, by the mouths of its personal rulers, has already declared me responsible a number of occasions earlier than the decision” , he added.
“You usually are not a martyr”
Hungarian authorities spokesman Zoltan Kovacs justified Budapest’s request, posting on .
“This complete farce is a joke, you aren’t a democrat and you aren’t a martyr. You are a typical felony,” Kovacs mentioned.
Other MEPs from the Fidesz occasion used harsh phrases in the direction of Salis, calling her a “shame” and a “coward” on social media.
The representatives of the Left Green Alliance, who proposed Salis to run for the European elections, reiterated their full solidarity with the activist.
“We hope that the European Parliament rejects this request within the consciousness that the circumstances for a good and equitable trial don’t exist in Hungary”, said Nicola Fratoianni and Angelo Bonelli.
The push to elevate Salis’ immunity comes after she gave a speech earlier than Orbán in early October, criticizing the nation’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.
ANNOUNCEMENT“It’s a little bit of a paradox to have a presidency led by somebody whose objective is to dismantle the EU within the title of nationalism,” the Italian MEP mentioned.
Orbán hit again at Salis, telling the European Parliament that she “beat peaceable folks within the streets of Budapest with iron bars” to cheers and boos.
Hungary’s request is unlikely to have a direct affect. The request will first must be assessed by the President of Parliament, earlier than being transmitted to the Legal Affairs Committee and at last voted on by the Assembly.
The trial is predicted to final no less than a number of months.
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