Ilaria Salis
Ilaria Salis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the European Parliament for North-West Italy | |
| Assumed office 16 July 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 June 1986 Milan, Italy |
| Political party | AVS (2024–present) |
| Other political affiliations | Independent (until 2024) |
| Occupation | Teacher |
Ilaria Salis (born 17 June 1986) is an Italian teacher, anti-fascist, and politician. In February 2023, she was arrested in Hungary and charged with assault and attempted murder following an attack on a neo-Nazi demonstration. Her detention and trial attracted significant controversy in Italy,[1][2] and in the 2024 European Parliament election, she was elected as an Italian MEP with the Greens and Left Alliance.
Biography[edit]
Early life and career[edit]
Salis was born in Milan on 17 June 1984 and grew up in Monza, except for a three-year interlude from 1992 to 1995 when the family lived in the United Kingdom. She graduated from Liceo Classico "B. Zucchi" in 2002 with top marks. Since childhood, she has always practised sport and, passionate about theatre, she attended various courses and acted in Monza. From high school she began her political activity in social centres, first in Monza and then in Milan, fighting for respect for rights and social equality. She graduated in Historical Sciences with honours in December 2005 from the State University of Milan. Sensitive to the problems of the disadvantaged, she attended the Professional Educator course at the ‘Don Gnocchi’ institute in Milan, successfully following all the courses. She worked as an educator for a few years in centres for problematic adolescents. In 2018 she decided to complete the studies required for teaching literary subjects in high schools and in April 2021 she obtained a Master's Degree in Philology, Literature and History of Antiquity at the University of Milan. In the meantime, she has worked for several years as an elementary school teacher in schools with multi-ethnic students and since 2021 as a substitute teacher of Literature in high schools, awaiting a competition.[3]
She was condemned twice for occupying houses without any legal titles.[4]
Arrest and trial[edit]
On 11 February 2023, Salis was arrested in Hungary, during a counter-demonstration against a neo-Nazi demonstration commemorating the soldiers and civilians who tried to escape from the Soviet encircelment during the Siege of Budapest in World War II. She was charged with assault and attempted murder, with Hungarian authorities accusing her of attacking people she believed linked to neo-nazis, including three Polish nationals,[5],[6][7] and seeking a sentence of 11 years incarceration.[8][9]. According to the indictment she was a member of a far-left terrorist-group, die Hammerbande, whose lawyer's phone number was found on her phone.[10]
Her detention attracted significant controversy, particularly in Italy, after she appeared at her trial "chained like an animal".[11] On 19 December 2023, seven Italian MEPs with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats accused the Hungarian government of holding her "bound by the neck in a cell with mice and cockroaches" and argued that the "injuries of the two assaulted individuals who reported her were only minor."[12] Her father claimed that she was "locked in a cell 23 hours a day with one hour of air time and 70 minutes of communication per week."[13]
The Hungarian Pison Service categorically refuted these allegations, showing the cell of Salis to the public.[14] They underlined that Salis also lied when she stated that she can not vote during the EP elections.[15]
The Italian government strongly protested about her detention conditions. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Péter Szijjártó criticised the Italian government's interference as unacceptable.[16] Spokesperson of the Government of Hungary Zoltán Kovács accused the media of an "orchestrated, leftist attack aimed at destroying good Hungary-Italy political relations."[17]
After 466 days in prison, on 23 May, she was transferred to house arrest in Budapest.
Other contested activities[edit]
In 2020 she arbitrarily occupied a house in Milan, the owner of which demands 90 000 euros from her as payment.[18][19]
Member of the European Parliament[edit]
On 18 April 2024, the Italian Greens and Left Alliance announced Salis's candidature for the upcoming 2024 European Parliament election in Italy of 8–9 June in North-West Italy, where she obtained more than 176 000 votes, thus being officially elected to the European Parliament.[20] As MEP, she gained legal immunity and was therefore released from detention, returning to Italy on 15 June.[21]
On 26 June 2024, she gave her first press conference as an MEP, pledging to focus on prison conditions, immigration, and youth issues during her term.[22]
References[edit]
- ^ "Shackled woman in Hungary court sparks Italy anger". BBC News. 30 January 2024.
- ^ "Italian activist Ilaria Salis to be released following her election as an MPE". June 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ "Curriculum viatae od Ilaria Salis" (PDF). Ministero dell'interno - Documenti trasparenza (in Italian). Retrieved 2024-06-10.
- ^ https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/ecco-vero-curriculum-salis-due-condanne-definitive-2333338.html
- ^ https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2024/06/10/italian-activist-ilaria-salis-to-be-released-following-her-election-as-an-mep
- ^ https://hungarytoday.hu/ilaria-salis-accused-in-the-antifa-case-is-released-on-bail/
- ^ https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/24/italian-anti-fascist-goes-on-trial-in-hungary-accused-of-attacking-neo-nazis
- ^ Peseckyte, Giedre (16 June 2024). "Newly elected MEP Ilaria Salis returns to Italy from detention in Hungary". Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ https://magyarnemzet.hu/english/2024/02/italian-press-fuming-while-forgets-bloody-manhunt-by-far-left
- ^ https://www.ansa.it/english/news/world/2024/02/14/ilaria-salis-relatives-wasted-a-year-says-nordio_532e8a74-66b2-480b-81be-fd308827149f.html
- ^ Mario Di Vito (2024-02-02). "Ilaria Salis, chained like an animal, stands before a Hungarian judge". Il Manifesto - global edition.
- ^ https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-9-2023-003713_EN.html
- ^ "Father of anti-Nazi activist Ilaria Salis: 'My daughter wants a fair trial'". Euronews. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ https://www.blikk.hu/aktualis/belfold/antifa-bvop-cella-ilaria-salis-borton-olasz/3l8j0jp
- ^ https://bv.gov.hu/hu/node/8249
- ^ "Salis Case: Szijjártó Speaks Out on Italian Television". Hungarian Conservative. 29 February 2024.
- ^ Winfield, Nicole (31 January 2024). "Hungary defends treatment of Italian antifascist activist, says left is hurting Italy-Hungary ties". AP News. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ https://www.liberoquotidiano.it/video/libero-video/39728475/ilaria-salis-audio-vicina-casa-aler-occupata-inchioda.html
- ^ https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/europa/occupare-case-serve-risolvere-i-problemi-lultima-salis-2339566.html
- ^ "Ilaria Salis has been elected to EU parliament - AVS".
- ^ "Italian activist freed from Hungary returns home after being elected to European Parliament". AP News. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
- ^ "Freed from arrest in Hungary, Italian activist Salis joins European Parliament". Euronews. 26 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.