On Thursday, January 23, the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs will discuss whether to revoke the immunity of Ilaria Salis, a left-wing extremist MEP from Italy.
The request to strip Salis of her parliamentary immunity came from Hungary, following her election to the European Parliament. The 40-year-old lawmaker was arrested in Hungary in 2023 for her involvement in violent attacks carried out by the Hammerbande (Hammer Gang), a German left-wing extremist group tied to Antifa. The group targeted nine individuals in Budapest whom they believed looked like neo-Nazis, based on their clothing. The attackers used telescopic batons and hammers in the assault.
Salis faced charges of attempted assault and was accused of being part of an extremist left-wing organization. After spending time in prison, she was placed under house arrest in Budapest. However, once she was elected to the European Parliament, she gained legal immunity and was released.
Now, Hungary’s prosecutor has requested that the European Parliament lift Salis’s immunity to allow for her extradition. In response, Salis stated that she hopes the European Parliament will uphold human rights and the rule of law, rather than bowing to Hungary’s “illiberal democracy” with autocratic tendencies. On her X (formerly Twitter) account, she argued that neither she nor her Antifa associates could expect a fair trial under the Orbán regime, which she claimed had already condemned anti-fascists like her.
In contrast, Hungarian officials have pointed out that Salis’s arrest wasn’t politically motivated; she was charged for participating in a brutal attack on innocent civilians. Recently, seven of her suspected accomplices, aged 21 to 27, surrendered to German authorities, hoping to avoid extradition to Hungary. One of their lawyers echoed Salis’s claims about the lack of a fair trial under Hungary’s government.
While the Committee on Legal Affairs will review the case, the final decision on whether to lift Salis’s immunity will be made in a later plenary session vote.
