By Angelo Amante
ROME (Reuters) -Italy on Tuesday protested to Hungary over the treatment of an Italian woman who appeared in a Budapest court chained and shackled for a hearing in an assault case.
Images of Ilaria Salis, 39, being led into court on Monday with her feet and hands bound and a chain round her waist, made headlines in Italy, prompting the opposition to urge Rome’s right-wing government to do more to help her.
The case is embarrassing for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as she and deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini have close ties with nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Speaking in parliament after the Hungarian charge d’affaires was summoned to his ministry, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Salis had faced “degrading and humiliating” treatment.
He urged respect for her rights in line with European standards and “our judicial civilisation”.
Salis, an elementary school teacher from near Milan, is accused of taking part in a serious assault on two far-right militants by a group of anti-fascist activists in Budapest last February. She pleaded not guilty on Monday.
Prosecutors are seeking an 11-year sentence for Salis, who is next due in court on May 24.
HUNGARY DISMISSES MEDIA ‘LIES’
Tajani told lawmakers Italy was seeking access to evidence including videos and hopes for a fair and speedy trial, adding that the Italian ambassador had met the Hungarian justice minister.
Earlier, Tajani said on RAI public radio that Italy would seek to get Salis, who has been detained for almost a year, moved to house arrest as a first step.
The Hungarian prison service dismissed as “lies” what it called “media allegations” that Salis’ rights had been violated during detention, and said jails in the country had adequate hygiene and food standards.
Speaking to Italian media, Salis’ father has alleged that his daughter has been badly mistreated, for example being denied a change of clothes, toilet paper, soap and sanitary pads for at least a week after her arrest.
An online petition calling for Salis’ repatriation had garnered almost 80,000 signatories by Tuesday afternoon.
“Giorgia Meloni, we’re not interested that Orban is a dear friend,” former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte wrote on X.
“Friends and political allies come after Italians, their rights and their dignity. It’s time to put an end to this disgrace, now,” added Conte, who leads the opposition Five Star Movement.
(Additional reporting by Alvise Armellini in Rome and Boldizsar Gyori in BudapestEditing by Alison Williams and Andrew Cawthorne)
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