Meloni rings Orban over shackled Italian woman prisoner in Hungarian court

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday night (Jan 30) called her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban to express concerns over the mistreatment of a woman from Milan who faces 11 years in prison. Meloni's phone call came hours after the Hungarian ambassador to Italy was summoned to the foreign ministry in Rome.

Images of Ilaria Salis, 39, chained and cuffed by the Hungarian authorities during a court hearing went viral on Italian social media platforms, inviting criticism for the inhumane treatment meted her way. Several front-page headline stories in Italian media carried the image and questioned the Meloni government for keeping mum on the issue.

Giuseppe Conte, leader of Italy’s opposition Five Star Movement also attacked Meloni and said: "An Italian in chains, tied hand and foot in Hungary."

"Giorgia Meloni, we don’t care that Orbán is a dear friend of yours. We need to act with the utmost determination and raise our voices," he added. 

Salis was arrested in the capital city of Budapest in February last year during a counter-demonstration against a neo-Nazi rally. She has been charged with conspiracy to commit assault causing grievous bodily harm.

While she has pleaded not guilty, the prosecutors claim that she came to Hungary to "carry out rapid attacks which could cause serious injury against people believed to be far-right". 

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Meloni's diplomatic challenge 

The case is a test of Meloni's diplomatic acumen. She has warm relations with Orban and the case threatens to generate friction between the two leaders. 

Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani condemned Salis' treatment and said Hungary may have gone "too far" in the case. 

“This time it seems to me it has gone too far. Treating a prisoner in that way really seems inappropriate, not in tune with our legal culture," Tajani told RAI radio

“We are in the European Union and there are citizens’ rights that must be respected,” the minister added.

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Meanwhile, the Hungarian prison service has pushed back against the allegations that Salis was intentionally being held in a cell "full of rats and insects". The prison authorities said "hygiene checks are constantly carried out in the institutions and prisoners receive proper medical care".

"The presence of rats is a lie and prisons meet high hygiene standards," it added.

(With inputs from agencies)