The Italian activist who was released from house arrest in Hungary after being elected as a member of the European Parliament expressed her gratitude to the voters who returned her freedom and promised to continue fighting for the rights of prisoners and against the rise of neo-fascist groups in Europe, the Guardian writes.
The case of Ilaria Salis, a teacher from Monza, sparked outrage and diplomatic protests in Italy when she was brought to court in Hungary in January in chains. She had been arrested nearly a year earlier at a counter-demonstration against a neo-Nazi rally in Budapest and charged with attempted physical assault and membership in an extremist left-wing organization, for which she faced a potential 11-year prison sentence.
The charges, which she denied, were not dropped, but Salis was granted immunity from prosecution after being elected as an MEP for Italy's Green and Left alliance, which won 6.8 percent of the vote in European parliamentary elections last month. She returned to her hometown on June 17, her 40th birthday.
"I thought about many possible outcomes, but what actually happened was beyond my imagination. I believe that many of those who voted for me did so because they were genuinely concerned about the rise of the far right and partly because they wanted to support a candidate who openly anti-fascist," she told the Guardian.
She warned that her case is not over.
"Actually, I was hoping that everything would end much faster. To be precise, it is still too early to talk about the outcome, because the trial has been stopped for the period that I am a member of the European Parliament, that is, for five years. In addition, the Hungarian authorities can request the cancellation immunity," she says.
Salis spent 15 months in pretrial detention, in a prison she says was infested with rats and bugs, where she was not allowed to take a danimai bath and where she lacked emergency medical care. She was released to house arrest in May when her trial began.
She became the target of hatred of many extremists, murals showing her death by hanging appeared in Budapest, and far-right militants wrote on Telegram that they wanted to "put her in a wheelchair."
"It was a very difficult period, an experience that put me to the test and I still haven't fully recovered. The possibility of such a large punishment, completely disproportionate to the charges, scared me, and it still scares me quite a bit. I remember when my parents came to visit , they wondered if they would still be alive ten years later.
If there is any positive aspect, it is that I found a great strength within me that allowed me to survive the darkest moments. A strength nurtured by the solidarity I felt while there and growing beyond those walls. The love of those who cared for me and those who supported me even though they didn't know me helped me resist and that was my strength. That feeling is undoubtedly much greater than hatred. I was lucky to have the support of the community around me, and it's very important to make sure no one feels alone," she explains.
Italian media suggest that Salis was faced with the demands of the Hungarian government, which conditioned her extradition on Rome's support for Hungary in the European Union. Her father previously stated that he was afraid that her case would be exploited not only by those in Hungary, but also by some in Italy.
Matteo Salvini, Italy's deputy prime minister and leader of the far-right League party, has repeatedly criticized Salis, claiming she was a member of a group that damaged a facility used by his party in Monza in 20117. However, during the nearly year of her detention, until she appeared in court in chains, little was known about the Salis case in her homeland.
"The conditions in which I found myself in custody did not allow me to have a realistic perception of those dynamics, but only sensations. Later I realized that my situation, when it began to receive significant media attention, was ambivalent. With the strong political connotation that my case had, on the one hand, the aspect of protection during my daily life in prison was improved - for example, since then I could see a doctor, the guards started to respect me, the cell was less crowded, etc. On the other hand, I was afraid that they would me to use for interests that have nothing to do with my situation," explains the activist and newly minted member of the European Parliament.
Salis said the Italian government could have done more in her case.
"I could not help but notice the terrible attitude of the League party, but it did not surprise me. That attitude clearly sums up the lack of vision of this party, whose main intention seems to be to sow hatred. Simply put, I believe that they are not capable of properly they deal with serious issues," she believes. Salis intends to use her position as an MEP to fight for the rights of prisoners.
"I intend to continue advocating for the rights of prisoners in Europe, focusing particularly on prisons in Italy and Italians imprisoned abroad, as these are situations where I can have a greater impact," she said. Responding to those who believe that her candidacy was just a way to avoid prison, Salis says that she has already set out to fight for prisoners and that values such as solidarity and equality are the basis of her politics.
"In Italy, I have already started pointing out the problem of housing, the housing crisis, high rents, which represent a very serious social problem in the city where I live in Milan. I want to do this at the European level as well," she points out. The activist also believes that anti-fascism must be a collective responsibility.
"My commitment will be focused on immediate action against the operations of neo-Nazis and neo-fascist organizations, as well as on the long-term improvement of people's material living conditions and the promotion of a new popular anti-fascist culture. If there is any lesson to be learned from the European experience with nationalism and Nazism in the 20th century, century, is that we must not provide any space for these ideologies," she concludes.
Bonus video:
