Italy Closes Ranks around Alleged Antifa Thug Standing Trial in Hungary

Mihály Kovács, Head of the Detention Affairs Service of the National Command of the Penitentiary Department (BVOP) holds a press conference in the eight-person cell of an Italian woman accused of armed group violence against a member of the community and aggravated assault, in the Object II of the Budapest Penitentiary Institute.

Instead of offering apologies for their citizens allegedly committing violent hate crimes on Hungarian soil, the Italian left seems to be closing ranks around a woman accused of being part of an extremist far-left group who attacked people randomly in Budapest last year. The case is reminiscent of another far-left extremist’s case, that of Carola Rackete, who despite deliberately ramming an Italian coastguard vessel while carrying illegal migrants in her boat, has become a celebrated hero in German TV studios.

The case dates back to February 2023, when a group of seven Antifa thugs, believing they were nationalist protesters, randomly attacked people, among them foreign tourists, on the Hungarian capital’s streets, assaulting them and causing serious injuries. One of the suspects, Italian citizen Ilaria Salis, is accused of being part of the violent group and currently standing trial. Yet pictures published of the defendant being led to court in handcuffs and chains caused an uproar in Italy, reaching the highest levels. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had reportedly spoken about the case with his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni, saying that “Ilaria Salis has been able to make phone calls and has not been isolated from the world. All her rights will be guaranteed.”

Zoltán Kovács, the prime minister’s spokesman, had written on X about the Italian schoolteacher currently standing trial, saying “The leftist media and human rights groups launched an orchestrated attack against Hungary in the case of three foreign nationals charged with the organized assault of suspected far-right sympathizers… Between February 9 and 11, 2023, five assaults took place in Budapest in connection with the “Day of Honor” event, during which a group of men and women attacked passers-by from behind and brutally assaulted them with various objects. The victims included Hungarian and foreign nationals. Of the nine people attacked, four suffered serious injuries and five light injuries, but several attacks had the potential to cause life-threatening injuries.”

❗️Facts you should know about last February’s antifa attacks in Hungary

❌The leftist media and human rights groups launched an orchestrated attack against Hungary in the case of three foreign nationals charged with the organized assault of suspected far-right sympathizers. Here… pic.twitter.com/Se56A3YJiz

— Zoltan Kovacs (@zoltanspox) January 31, 2024

Alongside an online petition demanding that Ilaria Salis should be freed that had reached over 100,000 signatures, the defendant’s father, Roberto Salis, is one of those leading the campaign to extradite his daughter to Italy. He had reportedly accused the Hungarian authorities of obtaining a confession from his daughter through torture, without providing any evidence to support these astonishing claims.

Even Italian news agency ANSA had seriously distorted the case in its report when it claimed that “the 39-year-old elementary school teacher and anti-Fascist activist is on trial in Hungary for allegedly attacking two Hungarian neo-Nazis.” In fact, the “anti-Fascist activist,” as she is called in the report, is not standing trial for attacking neo-Nazis, but for being a member of a criminal organization, attempted bodily harm endangering life, two counts as an accomplice, and one as an accessory before the fact. Yet the Italian woman’s defense team already operates under the presumption of Hungary’s guilt in the matter, saying that “we are assessing the possibility of making an immediate appeal to the European Court in Strasbourg for the violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, for which Hungary has already been condemned on other occasions.”

A year ago, far-left Antifa activist Ilaria Salis – who arrived smiling to her preparatory meeting this Monday – along with her associates, traveled to Hungary and brutally attacked passers-by for political reasons. The Budapest Chief Prosecutor’s Office charged her with… pic.twitter.com/U6NPnh9nPT

— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) February 1, 2024

The case sheds further light on just how high of places Antifa and other violent far-left movements can count on support, when Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani himself reported that the Hungarian attorney general visited Ilaria in prison on Tuesday evening to check on her condition. The Italian Deputy Prime Minister then mentioned that on Wednesday, “her parents also went to visit her.” Furthermore, the case will reportedly be discussed in the European Parliament in Strasbourg next week, and will be presented in front of the European Court of Human rights.

In fairness, it is worth mentioning that not only the Italian, but also the left-wing Hungarian press has shown a good amount of empathy for the defendant’s fate, while denigrating the Hungarian prison service by republishing Salis’ former Italian cellmate’s opinion piece, accusing prison guards of boorish behavior and claiming the cells were rat infested. The prison service reacted in a statement saying that they consider it “sad and unethical” that “the smear campaign of a former prisoner is being reported by some media outlets without consulting the other party, almost as a fact.” It was noted that the relevant legislation and the various professional protocols lay down strict rules on the conditions of detention. Hygiene checks are constantly carried out in the institutions and detainees are provided with appropriate medical care. The presence of rats is a “lie,” the statement added.

These unfounded accusations are a serious attack on the reputation of the prison service and its staff, which we have a right to!”,

the prison service stated.

Featured image: MTI/Hegedüs Róbert