The European Parliament cannot be a haven for criminals

Between February 9 and 11, 2023, a group of foreign nationals carried out five attacks in Hungary. They attacked passers-by from behind who they thought were attending an (unrealised) event. They brutally assaulted them with various tools (such as an expandable baton and a rubber-coated hammer). Of the nine people attacked, four were seriously injured, and five suffered minor injuries. Hungarians and foreign nationals were among the victims. 

Ilaria Salis has been charged in Hungary with three counts of attempted assault causing bodily harm to life in a criminal organisation, two counts of being an accomplice, and one count of being an accessory. The trial started this spring.

Since Ilaria Salis won a seat in the European Parliament on June 9, the court suspended the proceedings against her based on her immunity under the relevant international law and released her from house arrest. Ilaria Salis has returned to Italy. 

MEP Enikő Győri said that the Fidesz-KDNP EP delegation respects the decision of the Italian people. However, they strongly condemn the fact that the Italian Green-Left alliance launched Salis in the EP elections with the aim of hiding behind her newly acquired immunity to escape the consequences of her actions a year and a half ago.

We hope that when the Budapest court initiates the procedure, the European Parliament will waive Ilaria Salis’s immunity so that she cannot escape justice.

The Fidesz-KDNP delegation to the European Parliament will do its utmost to ensure that such abuses of parliamentary immunity do not happen in the future. The European Parliament should not be a refuge for criminals, whether they are Eva Kaili, Marc Tarabella or Ilaria Salis.