An “Italian woman in chains” puts pressure on the good relations between Orban and Meloni. Bird flu has been found in penguins on the Falkland Islands

Ilaria Salis will appear in court in Budapest on Monday. The 39-year-old is wearing ankle and handcuffs and is escorted to her place by two masked men from a special unit. Salis is also led by a kind of leash that is attached to a cuff that she wears around her stomach. Her hands are tied there too. The chains are never removed during the test. The impression that arises: this is a dangerous woman.

The images are currently ubiquitous in Italy. Several Italian front-page headlines on Tuesday declared that Salis had been treated “like an animal.” Other media throughout Europe are now also reporting on the case. And this despite the fact that Salis has been in custody for almost a year. Her case first became known when her father reported to Italian media in October that his daughter was being held under inhumane conditions in a solitary cell in a Hungarian prison. A fellow prisoner of the Milanese woman told a newspaper about “rats and insects”. The charges were later immediately dismissed by the prison responsible in Hungary.

11 years in prison for wounding neo-Nazis

Ilaria Salis faces a total of eleven years in prison. She is accused of wounding two neo-Nazis last February as part of a commemoration of an action by the Waffen-SS and Hungarian soldiers. Every year on February 11, neo-Nazis from all over Europe gather in Budapest to celebrate the so-called “Day of Honor.” It commemorates the failed attempts by German and Hungarian troops to break the Soviet siege ring around Budapest on February 11, 1945.

The accused teacher from Milan describes herself as an anti-fascist. She is accused of attacking a group of right-wing extremists on February 11, 2023, together with others from the left-wing scene. According to authorities, nine people were injured, six of them seriously.

In this context, police released a video last year showing eight assailants hitting and kicking a man with metal bars, hammers and pepper spray near a residential area in Budapest. The attackers ran at him from behind and attacked him before quickly retreating. Five similar attacks took place in the city within 48 hours.

The teacher and a German co-suspect deny the crimes they are accused of. Salis does not deny that she was present in Budapest that day. A German who was also a co-suspect was sentenced to three years in prison on Monday. The 29-year-old pleaded guilty.

According to Italian media, the two men’s injuries would have healed within a few days. Moreover, both have decided not to press charges. However, the Public Prosecution Service claims that Salis and the other suspects came to Hungary expressly to carry out rapid attacks, which could seriously injure people considered to be right-wing extremists. They also accuse the Italian of being a member of the so-called ‘Hammer Gang’, a violent left-wing extremist group from Germany. Salis says no.

Meloni is on the phone with Orban

Although the case had hardly caused a stir so far, the images of Salis being tied up changed considerably on Monday: Italian media reported extensively on the case and demonstrations took place in front of the Hungarian embassy in Rome. An online petition calling for Salis to be sent back to Italy has so far collected more than 90,000 signatures. On Tuesday, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he had summoned the Hungarian ambassador to Rome “to ask why some of the most basic standards for the conditions of detainees were not respected.” And: “I believe that the security measures taken this time were excessive,” Tajani told Italian media. A week ago, the Italian Foreign Minister contacted his counterpart in Hungary and drew his attention to the Salis case; Hungary must please adhere to the rules that apply in the EU.

All this increased the pressure on Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. For them, the case will probably lead to a ‘political headache’, as the ‘Financial Times’ writes. Because: Meloni is not only politically close to the Hungarian autocrat Orbán, the two are also considered close personal friends.

“An Italian woman in chains, tied hand and foot in Hungary,” Giuseppe Conte, leader of the Italian opposition party Five Star Movement, wrote in a social media post on Tuesday. ‘Giorgia Meloni, we don’t care that Orbán is a good friend of yours. We must act with utmost determination and raise our voices.”

Late Tuesday evening the pressure was probably too much for Meloni. As several Italian media report, she is said to have had a telephone conversation with her colleague Orban about the ‘Salis case’. It is still unclear what exactly was discussed there. Meloni is said to have drawn Orbán’s attention to the Salis case – based on the assumption that Italy respects the independence and autonomy of the Hungarian judiciary – and “continued the pressure from our country to clarify and resolve the situation” , writes Il Giornale.

The trial has since been postponed until May.

With material from the SDA news agency.