The main defendant in the Budapest Antifa attacks will remain under house arrest.Continue reading
Ilaria Salis, an ANTIFA activist accused in the “Budapest ANTIFA attacks,” has achieved an unlikely victory – becoming a Member of the European Parliament.
According to Euronews, this outcome, facilitated by her newfound parliamentary immunity, marks the end of over a year of legal proceedings against her in Hungary.
The 39-year-old teacher garnered a staggering 165,000 votes in the recent EP elections, securing her a seat with the Greens and Left Alliance. “Regardless of the results pending confirmation, it can be said with a fairly high degree of certainty that Ilaria Salis will be an MEP, and I believe she will be elected by an avalanche of votes,” predicted Nicola Fratoianni, national secretary of the Greens and Left Alliance, on election night.
As Index reports, Ms. Salis’s journey has been a tumultuous one. Arrested on February 11, 2023, she was charged with aggravated injury and politically motivated criminal conspiracy for allegedly attacking innocent people in Budapest.
She pleaded not guilty and rejected a hefty 11-year plea deal. Along with two German co-defendants, she faced over 20 years in prison, though no witnesses identified her as a perpetrator.
Her detention sparked outrage across Europe when she was brought before a judge in January with her hands and feet shackled, a visual denounced as “degrading” by her supporters.
The Greens and Left Alliance rallied behind Salis’s candidacy to “protect the rights and dignity of the European citizen” and denounce her “uncivilized” treatment.
Nicola Fratoianni and fellow party member Angelo Bonelli stated in an April Facebook post: “The idea is that around the candidacy of Ilaria Salis, a great and generous battle can be generated so that the European Union defends the principles of the rule of law and reaffirms the inviolability of fundamental human rights.”
With Ms. Salis now an MEP, the Alliance is likely to pursue legislative initiatives safeguarding the rights of those involved in criminal proceedings across the EU.