Ilaria Salis

Ilaria Salis
Official portrait, 2024
Member of the European Parliament for North-West Italy
Incumbent
Assumed office 16 July 2024
Personal details
Born	(1984-06-17) 17 June 1984 (age 40) Milan, Italy
Political party	Greens and Left Alliance
Alma mater	University of Milan
Occupation	Teacher

Ilaria Salis (born 17 June 1984) is an Italian politician, activist, and teacher. She was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2024 for the Green and Left Alliance.

Personal life

Salis was born on 17 June 1984 and grew up in Monza, Italy.^[1] She received a undergraduate degree in history at the University of Milan, graduating in December 2005.^[1] After completing her undergraduate degree, she worked as a primary school teacher.^[1] In 2021 she obtained a Master's degree in philology, literature and history of antiquity from the University of Milan.^[1]

Arrest and detention

On 11 February 2023, Salis was arrested in Hungary, after alleged assaults on neo-Nazis at a far-right event in Budapest.^[2][3] She was charged with three counts of attempted assault and accused of being part of an extreme left-wing organization.^[4] She denied the charges^[4] and the alleged victims of the attacks reportedly did not file reports with police.^[3]

Amid rising public outrage in her home country, the Italian government protested the shackling of Salis with chains around her hand and feet for her trial appearance.^[4][5] On 19 December 2023, seven Italian MEPs with the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats accused the Hungarian government of holding her "bound by the neck in a cell with mice and cockroaches" and argued that the "injuries of the two assaulted individuals who reported her were only minor".^[6] Salis wrote that she spent "23 hours out of 24 in a completely closed cell".^[4]

In May 2024, she was released from prison and transferred to house arrest in Budapest.^[4][7]

Election to the European Parliament

In June 2024, Salis was elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Green and Left Alliance, obtaining more than 170,000 votes.^[8][3] As a MEP, she gained legal immunity and was released from house arrest, finally returning to Italy.^[3]

She plans to leverage her role to advocate for the rights of incarcerated individuals, address the housing shortage, and tackle the issue of excessive rental costs.^[9]

References

1. Salis, Ilaria. "ILARIA SALIS - Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). interno.gov.it. Ministero dell'Interno. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
2. Peseckyte, Giedre (16 June 2024). "Newly elected MEP Ilaria Salis returns to Italy from detention in Hungary". Politico. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
3. "Italian activist freed from Hungary returns home after being elected to European Parliament". AP News. 15 June 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
4. Tondo, Lorenzo (14 June 2024). "Italian activist freed from Budapest house arrest after being elected MEP". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
5. Mario Di Vito (2 February 2024). "Ilaria Salis, chained like an animal, stands before a Hungarian judge". Il Manifesto - global edition.
6. "Parliamentary question | Case of Ilaria Salis, detained in Hungary, and human rights in Hungarian prisons | E-003713/2023". European Parliament. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
7. "Hungary grants house arrest to jailed Italian activist running for EU election". reuters.com. Reuters. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
8. "Ilaria Salis has been elected to EU parliament - AVS". Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
9. Tondo, Lorenzo (25 June 2024). "'It was a very tough period': Italian antifascist MEP Ilaria Salis on her 15-month detention in Hungary". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 July 2024.