An Italian anti-fascist activist was tried in Hungary on Friday for allegedly attacking neo-Nazis in a case that has sparked tensions between the two EU allies.
Ilaria Salis, 39, arrived at the court in Budapest accompanied by her father, in the presence of the Italian ambassador and a crowd of Italian journalists.
She left to applause after the court heard testimony from one of the victims of masked attackers and two witnesses. None of the three could personally identify Salis.
The case made headlines in Italy after Salis appeared in court in January handcuffed and shackled, with her feet shackled.
The teacher from Monza, near Milan, was arrested in Budapest in February 2023 after a counter-demonstration against a neo-Nazi rally.
She was held awaiting trial until Thursday, when she was released under house arrest.
Her case has sparked tensions between Rome and Budapest, despite cordial relations between their far-right prime ministers, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and Hungary’s Viktor Orban, with Rome filing several official complaints on Salis’ behalf.
Prosecutors allege that Salis traveled to Budapest specifically to carry out attacks on “unsuspecting victims identified or perceived as far-right sympathizers” to deter “representatives of the far-right movement.”
She was charged with three counts of attempted assault and accused of being part of a far-left criminal organization in the aftermath of a counter-demonstration against an annual neo-Nazi rally.
Salis denies the charges – which could see her in prison for up to 11 years – and says she is being persecuted because of her political beliefs.
A further hearing is scheduled for September, with Salis’ lawyer Gyorgy Magyar complaining that his client has not yet received all court documents in her native language.
Salis’ father Roberto Salis and Italian Ambassador Manuel Jacoangeli also complained that Salis’ speech in Budapest was read out in court, saying it put her “in danger”.
– ‘Right side of history’ –
A defiant Salis told Italian newspaper La Stampa through her father in an interview published last week that she was “on the right side of history”.
Last month, Italy’s Green and Left Alliance (AVS) nominated Salis as their main candidate for the upcoming European elections.
If the party receives enough votes in the vote, Salis may be able to claim parliamentary immunity, which would lead to a suspension of criminal proceedings against her.
Salis’ case has been highly politicized and the Hungarian nationalist government has regularly commented on it.
It has repeatedly denounced the media for portraying Salis as a “martyr”, instead pointing to what it called the “brutality” of her alleged crimes.
– ‘No toilet paper, soap’ –
Salis’ father claims his daughter was held in inhumane prison conditions until January, when her case received widespread media attention.
“For eight days she was held in a solitary cell, without toilet paper, sanitary towels or soap. In Italy we would consider this torture,” Roberto Salis told AFP ahead of the trial.
The Council of Europe has criticized Hungary’s overcrowded prisons.
Hungarian officials have denied allegations of mistreatment.
In the past, Hungary has faced heavy criticism both at home and abroad over a controversial terrorism conviction against a Syrian man for his role in a 2015 border uprising.
Prosecutors had accused Ahmed Hamed of using a megaphone to orchestrate violence and throwing stones at Hungarian police to force them to open the border with Serbia. They had initially given him a prison sentence of ten years.
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