Hungary refuses house arrest for the Italian teacher

The court in Budapest, Hungary, rejected this Thursday (28) a request for house arrest presented by the defense of the Italian professor Ilaria Salis, detained since February 2023 for an alleged attack against far-right militants.

The 39-year-old teacher appeared in court again with her hands cuffed and shackles on her ankles, repeating images that had already sparked outrage in Italy at a hearing last January. Furthermore, Salis was being led by a police officer as if she were on a leash.

“The circumstances have not changed,” said judge Jozsef Sós, adding that there was a “risk of flight” for the Italian woman.

The teacher’s father, Roberto Salis, said the rejection of the appeal represented the “definitive test of the strength of the government” of far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and asked the office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for a ” examination of conscience”.

“The chains do not depend on the judge, but on the prison system, so the Italian government can and must do something so that my daughter is not treated like a dog,” he added.

Meanwhile, Italy’s centre-left opposition leader Elly Schlein called for an “immediate” reaction from Meloni and said Hungary had “harmed the rights of a detained person”.

Salis faces a 24-year prison sentence for allegedly attacking neo-Nazi militants with a truncheon during a far-right demonstration in Hungary, whose court also wants to prosecute another Italian involved in the case, Gabriele Marchesi, 24.

He was arrested in Milan last November, on the basis of a European arrest warrant, but the court in the Lombardy capital rejected Budapest’s extradition request and ordered his release on Thursday.