The Hungarian government defended its prison system on Wednesday January 31, described as “
compliant with EU standards”
, after the indignation sparked by the case of an Italian woman tried for having attacked neo-Nazis in Budapest.
Images of Ilaria Salis, 39, with her hands shackled and her feet bound as she appeared in court on Monday, made the front pages of Italy's main newspapers on Tuesday and prompted protests in Rome.
“Certainly, she was restrained in the courtroom, and yes, she spent 11 months in detention. But can we speak of
“inhumane” conditions
?
No, not really
,” reacted Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs on X (ex-Twitter), assuring that they were
“compliant with EU standards
. ”
“The offenses in question are serious (...) and the measures are appropriate
,” he added.
The affair sparked a reaction at the highest level of state: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni telephoned her counterpart Viktor Orban, and the Hungarian ambassador was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explain this treatment. deemed
“inappropriate”
.
Cell infested with rats
The inmate's father Roberto Salis, who has been campaigning for months for intervention by the Italian government, visited the prison where she is on Wednesday.
According to him, his daughter was treated in court
“like an animal” and suffered
“inhumane”
conditions
in her cell in a high-security unit infested with rats and where she lacked food and hygiene products.
Such accusations are
“pure lies”
, reacted the prison administration after organizing for the press a visit to the room where the Italian national is incarcerated with seven other people.
“Of course a prison does not offer the services of a multi-star hotel”
but prisoners receive three meals a day and appropriate medical care, said manager Mihaly Kovacs, quoted by the MTI agency.
Up to 11 years in prison
A teacher in Monza, near Milan, Ilaria Salis was arrested in Budapest in February 2023 following a demonstration against a gathering of neo-Nazis.
She is accused of attempted assault and being part of a far-left organization, with her next trial hearing scheduled for May 24.
She denies the allegations, which could result in an 11-year prison sentence.
“Hungary has been singled out many times”
at national and European level
“for its poor incarceration conditions
,” György Magyar, Ilaria Salis’ lawyer, reminded AFP on Tuesday.
It is also common practice to bring detainees to court in chains.
According to a recent Eurostat report, the Central European country is, along with Poland, the country in the European Union (EU) with proportionally the highest number of prisoners: 191 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 106 on average.