An Italian woman shackled while appearing before a Hungarian court has sparked outrage in her homeland.
Ilaria Salis, an anti-fascist activist, was arrested in Budapest last year on suspicion of involvement in attacks against participants in Hungary's Day of Honor celebrations.
Every year on February 11, dozens of neo-Nazis commemorate the failed escape attempt by Nazi troops and Hungarian soldiers from Budapest during the Red Army's siege of the city in 1945.
He also mobilizes support for violent anti-fascist protesters.
Salles was seen in court being led by a guard holding a chain in his hand.
Her hands were also tied and her legs were shackled, restricting her movement, in what the Italian government described as “humiliating conditions.”
Photo: AP
Photo: AP
Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni She spoke with her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán A local news website reported on Salles' arrest.
The two leaders enjoy good relations, although this is a sensitive situation for Ms. Meloni's far-right-led government.
The Italian Foreign Ministry called on the Hungarian deputy ambassador to protest after Salles appeared in court earlier in the week.
The ministry cited European and international law that calls for the need to respect the dignity of prisoners, “including the method of transporting defendants to court and the guarantees of a fair trial.”
A mural near the Hungarian Embassy in Rome of Ilaria Salis breaking her shackles. Photo: AP
Read more:
An avalanche kills two hikers in the Italian Alps
Italy's migrant deal is far less radical than Britain's Rwanda plan
She also requested that Salles be placed under house arrest instead of being held in prison before her trial, which made the front page of Italian newspapers following reports that she had been tied by the neck in a cell with rats and cockroaches.
The ministry requested that Salles' lawyer obtain a video of the alleged events so that he could be defended.
Senate President Ignazio La Rossa, a member of Meloni's Brotherhood of Italy party, said Italian law “prohibits the display of prisoners handcuffed and in humiliating conditions, while this is not the case in Hungary.”
If Salles is convicted, the Public Prosecution will seek 11 years in prison.
Hungarian prisons reportedly lack European Convention on Human Rights standards, with regard to detention conditions and overcrowding.
