Italian teacher held in Hungary for alleged assault released after being elected MEP (updated)
14/06/2024 13:20
(Adds reaction from Budapest-Capital Regional Court and Orban's
chief of staff)
BUDAPEST, June 14 (Reuters) - Italian anti-fascist
activist Ilaria Salis was released from house arrest in Budapest
after she was elected a member of the European Parliament (MEP)
at the weekend, her lawyer Gyorgy Magyar told Reuters on Friday.
Members of the European Parliament hold strong legal
immunity from prosecution, even if the allegations relate to
offences allegedly committed before their election.
The 39-year-old teacher was charged last year in Hungary
with taking part in an anti-fascist group's assaults on people
they viewed as far-right activists. Salis and her family have
said she is innocent.
The Budapest-Capital Regional Court will ask the European
Parliament to suspend Salis' immunity as she is accused of
violent crimes and her case is ongoing, the court said in a
statement on Friday.
Police have removed the electronic bracelet from Salis'
ankle, her lawyer said. Salis' father was expected to arrive in
Budapest later on Friday to take her back to Italy, Magyar
added.
Salis has been held in Hungary for more than a year in a
case that prompted the Italian Green and Left Alliance to
nominate her among their candidates at the European ballot.
"This is not a really positive picture of Italian
democracy," Gergely Gulyas, chief of staff for Hungarian Prime
Minister Viktor Orban, said on Thursday at a press briefing
about Salis' election.
"It does not mean a lot of good either for the European
Parliament or the voters who decided to send a criminal to the
parliament," Gulyas said.
Salis has not been convicted and her case is pending.
The case drew outrage in Italy in February, after she was
led into court with her feet and hands bound and a chain around
her waist.
The issue is politically sensitive due to the longstanding
ties between Italy's right-wing prime minister, Giorgia Meloni,
and Orban.
(Reporting by Anita Komuves; Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Alex
Richardson and Rod Nickel)
((KOMUVES.Anita@thomsonreuters.com;))