Italy protests with Hungary over Italian woman chained in court

By Giada Zampano

ROME (AA) - Italy formally complained on Tuesday with Hungarian authorities about the treatment of an Italian woman who appeared in shackles before a Budapest court after being detained for almost a year in a case of assault.

Ilaria Salis, a 39-year-old teacher, was led into court on Monday with chains around her body, feet and hands, sparking heated protests from the Italian center-left opposition.

Opposition leaders and activists called for the right-wing government of Premier Giorgia Meloni to intervene immediately to stop “inhuman” treatment that openly violates EU and international rules.

The case could turn into a political and diplomatic headache for Meloni, who has always had close ties with Hungary’s hard-right Premier Viktor Orban.

Salis is accused of taking part last February in a violent assault against two neo-Nazis militants by a group of anti-fascist activists. She has pleaded not guilty, but faces a possible 11-year sentence.

Over the past few months, Salis’ father has repeatedly complained about the “intolerable” treatment of her daughter during her detention in a Budapest high-security prison.

“She has been treated like a beast,” Roberto Salis told Italian TV on Monday after the images of his daughter in chains made headlines in Italy and across the world.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Tuesday confirmed he already summoned the Hungarian ambassador in Rome over the case, while the Italian ambassador in Budapest has protested with the Hungarian Justice ministry.

Tajani, however, stressed that Hungarian magistrature is independent from the government and its decisions cannot be influenced.

"The problem is to establish whether the rules were respected, but we cannot intervene," Tajani said. "Hungary is a sovereign state, and we can only protest."

Tajani added that it is not possible to ask for Salis’ extradition to Italy because she was arrested in Hungary for an alleged crime committed there.