Italy has protested to the Hungarian authorities over the treatment of an Italian woman who appeared in a Budapest court with chains around her hands and feet for a hearing in an assault case.
The images of Ilaria Salis, a 39-year-old teacher, in shackles and being led into court on Monday with a chain around her middle made headlines in Italy, with the opposition calling for the right-wing government led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to do more to help her.
Speaking on Italian radio on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the way Salis had been treated appeared to violate European Union rules.
“This morning our ambassador in Hungary will go the ministry to protest over this treatment of a detainee,” Tajani told Radio Anch’io.
Hungary’s interior ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case is embarrassing for Meloni as she and deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini have retained close ties with nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
“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 5-Star Movement.
Salis 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, with a further court appearance scheduled for May 24.
Tajani said Italy would seek to get Salis, who has been detained for almost a year, moved to house arrest as a first step.
(Reuters, Photo from eunews.it)