Ilaria Salis, in prison for 15 months in Budapest and now a candidate in the European elections with the Green Left Alliance, is under house arrest. In a private house in Hungary, for now. Then, perhaps, to Italy. The primary school teacher, activist of the radical left, accused of a double attack on far-right militants on 10 February 2023, on the occasion of the so-called Day of Honor of nostalgic neo-Nazis, will have to wear the electronic bracelet and will then be able to leave the maximum security prison of Gyorskocsi Ucta after the payment of a deposit of 40 thousand euros: paid by the family but with the help of a collection promoted by the protagonist herself. Father Roberto Salis rejoices: “A political trial. I’m there in front of the door from which Ilaria comes out. Excellent results from the polls. I’m optimistic. But she’s not out of the well yet. As long as she’s in Hungary, I don’t feel calm.”
The requested measure of house arrest, finally granted (by the court of second instance) after a total of six refusals, is a correct outcome, given that the accused professes to be innocent and, after the rejection of the plea deal, awaits the continuation of the trial (next hearing on May 24th). And in any case it is not a gift: in Hungary, in the event of a conviction, every day under house arrest is in fact worth a fifth of someone behind bars. The Keeper of the Seals Carlo Nordio expresses “satisfaction”. “Thanks to the synergistic action of the government and the embassy, which worked intensely, in silence, without propaganda, without drum rolls”, adds Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who explains in Transatlantico: Ilaria “will be able to vote” with the procedure consular.
The declarations of Roberto Salis are of a completely different nature: “I don’t have pebbles in my shoes, but coarse gravel, the one used for concrete, my feet are bloody – he states on the Gedi channels –. Italian citizens are tired of having to implore the institutions to act, the institutions are at the service of the citizens. We ask the Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs to work for us, we have not seen any concrete activity.” “The appeal belongs to Salis’ lawyers, not to the government – the Alleanza Verdi Sinistra maintains the point –. We will not stop until Ilaria is here, in Italy, free”. “End of a nightmare”, comments M5s. “Ilaria is released from prison, great news! – PD secretary Elly Schlein celebrates –. Now we hope she can return to Italy. The government will take action.”
The recovery starts from a video. The inmate Salis who participates in the first hearing of the trial on January 29th, in handcuffs and even with chains on her feet and wrists, sparks an international controversy. It is those images that give the case the relevance it deserves. To illuminate the overall treatment received by the Italian prisoner. “I am treated like a beast on a leash,” she sums up in an 18-page memorandum sent to our embassy. Again: “For three months I have been tormented by bedbug bites”, “there is little air, only that which filters through the peephole”. Problems with the translation of documents also emerge. Unacceptable given the accusation, yet to be proven, which is worth up to 24 years in prison.
The media and the European left rise up, while the government, caught off guard also due to Giorgia Meloni’s political closeness to the Hungarian president Viktor Orban, keeps a low profile. The Prime Minister asks Orban to “respect the rights” of the accused and a “fair trial”, respecting the independence of the Hungarian judiciary: a button also appreciated (and pressed) by Orban. On February 2, the president of the Senate Ignazio La Russa receives Roberto Salis and summarizes: “The girl has the right to dignity”. Three days later, the appointment with Nordio and Tajani appears colder, almost technical. On March 18, the request for house arrest in Hungary, suggested by Nordio, was rejected. On 18 April the Greens and Left Alliance announces Ilaria’s candidacy for the European elections. It’s the turning point. “After that, coincidentally, the house arrest arrived”, observes Salis sr on TV after raising the alarm: “Ilaria will not be able to vote”. Budapest flatly denies it. Then finally the good news, with satisfaction, expressed in different ways, by the family, the government and the opposition.
