ROME – Hungary warned Italy to stop interfering in the case of Ilaria Salis, an Italian left-wing activist who is currently undergoing trial in Budapest, spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said.

 Ilaria Salis, from Monza, has been detained in Hungary for over 13 months, after she was arrested for allegedly attacking two neo-Nazis who were participating in a commemorative SS march in Budapest in Feb. 2023. Her plight has made Italian and international headlines after videos emerged in Jan. 2024 of her being dragged into a Budapest courtroom in chains and on a leash. She reappeared in court in a similar fashion on March 28. 

 Kovacs, who is the Hungarian Secretary of State and the spokesman for President Viktor Orban, hit out at Roberto Salis, Ilaria’s father, on X. He denounced Roberto Salis for “touring the European media” with concerns over his daughter’s safety as long as she remains in Hungary. Roberto Salis has written and spoken to numerous Italian politicians and human rights’ agencies to return Salis to Italy.

 Hungary has been criticised by many for allegedly breaking interntional law in relation to their treatment of Salis, which was described as "inhumane and degrading" by the International Association of Democratic Lawyers. 

 On March 28, the Hungarian courts rejected Salis’s application for house arrest in Italy, on the basis “there was a risk that she would flee or go into hiding.” This led to Italian President Sergio Mattarella telephoning Ilaria Salis.

 Kovacs further went on to quote the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Szijjarto, who said that the Salis’s alleged crime was “premeditated” and a “well-thought-out, planned act.”  Salis refuted this claim, alleging there was no evidence that she had committed the crime of which she was accused. Szijjarto also criticised the Italian media for depicting Salis as a “martyr.”

 Closing the statement, Kovacs said “no one should see Hungary as some kind of boxing ring where they come and plan to beat someone to death.” He warned that “no direct request from the Italian government (or any major media outlet) to the Hungarian government will make it easier to defend Salis’s case”, on the basis that as a “democracy” the “government has no control over the courts.”

 Meanwhile, the Democratic Party have been reported as considering nominating Ilaria Salis as a candidate for the upcoming European elections.