Ilaria Salis, an Italian member of the extremist Antifa group, imprisoned for brutally beating up innocent civilians in Hungary, has been elected to the European Parliament (EP), meaning she could get immunity and be released from house arrest.
Italian daily Il Giornale writes that the election of someone who committed aggravated assault, caused life-threatening injuries—and still managed to present herself as the real victim—is nothing more than the triumph of victimhood culture.
As we previously reported, nine people were injured—four of them seriously—last February in the capital of Hungary, Budapest, in a series of attacks organised by the Hammerbande (Hammer Gang), a German left-wing militant group linked to Antifa. The members of the group surrounded and bludgeoned their victims with telescopic batons and hammers. Their plan was to target participants in a neo-Nazi gathering. The perpetrators attacked innocent passersby who they decided “looked like” neo-Nazis based on their choice of clothing. One of the victims said he was left partially paralyzed, and stated “it’s a miracle” he’s still alive.
One of the attackers, 39-year-old Ilaria Salis, an Italian teacher, was arrested and imprisoned in Hungary. Her trial began last month. She risks an 11-year jail sentence after being charged with three counts of attempted assault, and is accused of being part of an extreme left-wing organisation.
Her case made international headlines earlier this year when she appeared at a court hearing handcuffed and chained with her feet shackled. Left-wing activists, liberal NGOs, politicians and mainstream media immediately cried foul at her treatment, and demanded that Budapest release her, or at least let her serve her prison sentence in Italy. Her father also spoke to Italian media of his daughter’s alleged inhumane treatment in prison, something Hungarian authorities denied. The case of Ilaria Salis was even brought before the European Parliament, where left-wing MEPs tried to weaponize her trial to attack the Hungarian conservative government.
Salis was given house arrest last month following an appeals court decision. The Italian Green-Left Alliance (AVS) nominated her as one of its candidates in the European elections, saying they wanted to “protect the rights and dignity of a European citizen.” AVS got six seats in the Parliament following the elections on Sunday, June 9th, meaning Salis will become an MEP. With this comes potential parliamentary immunity, meaning she could be released from prison/house arrest.
Her lawyer said they will request immunity once she is officially proclaimed an MEP. “With the election, she acquires parliamentary immunity under the EU Treaty,” providing “exemption from any form of detention and suspension of criminal proceedings” for parliamentarians, Eugenio Losco told AFP.
As we previously reported: if the Hungarian authorities do not want to release her, they could submit a request to the European Parliament to waive her immunity. Any final decision would rest with the (ideologically biased) European Court of Justice.
Salis was elected with a high number of preferential votes (over 165,000) in the constituency of north-western Italy where she was nominated by her party. After results were published, she wrote on her social media page:
As the radical right advances across Europe, it is necessary to fight to radically change the current state of affairs. I’m ready to do my part. This collective and courageous force that has manifested itself in my support, must be able to strengthen and spread in Italy, in Europe and throughout the world.
Left-wing Italian senator Ilaria Cucchi said every vote given to Ilaria Salis was a vote for the ‘rule of law.’
Hungarian conservative weekly Mandiner, however, called her election “hard to understand” seeing how she had committed “cowardly” criminal acts. “The image of Ilaria with chains on her wrists and ankles, was enough to sanctify this woman who has nothing holy about her,” writes conservative Italian daily Il Giornale, mocking Ilaria Salis for describing herself as an anti-fascist “when fascism has been dead for about eighty years.” The newspaper went on to question the thinking of some Italian voters:
About 160,000 Italians are convinced that it is right to hammer or beat political opponents, that there is nothing wrong with attacking police officers, that such methods are lawful when they are applied to punish alleged fascists.
