This morning, upon instructions from the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Antonio Tajani, the Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry, Ambassador Riccardo Guariglia, summoned the Chargé d’Affaires of the Republic of Hungary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
While reiterating the Italian Government’s protest against the conditions in which Ms. Ilaria Salis has been detained and is being held during the court hearings in Budapest, Ambassador Guariglia recalled the key principles laid down in European and international law regarding respect for the guarantees protecting the dignity of detention conditions, including the way in which defendants are transferred to court and the guarantees of a fair trial.
While fully respecting the independence and autonomy of the Hungarian judiciary, he expressed the Government’s firm expectation that Ms. Salis would be granted -as soon as possible – a pre-trial detention regime in line with EU law, including alternative measures to detention in prison.
The Secretary General also stressed the absolute necessity for Ms. Salis and her lawyers to be granted access to the Italian translation of the indictment, as already requested by the defence, and to watch the surveillance video underlying the indictment, in order to ensure full enjoyment of the right to defence and to a fair trial.
The Secretary General finally confirmed that the Embassy in Budapest would continue to ensure any assistance to Ms. Salis and her family, in cooperation with her lawyers.
