Ilaria Salis arrived in Italy after 16 months spent under arrest in Hungary

Ilaria Salis arrived in Italy, at her parents' home in Monza, after making the journey from Budapest by car. The Avs MEP returned to Italy after more than 16 months spent in Hungary after being arrested on charges of participating in two attacks on extreme right-wing militants.

The request for release had been filed by her Hungarian lawyer Gyorgy Magyar immediately after her election as an MEP with Avs and on Friday 14 June she was released from home detention.

The Hungarian police had arrived at the flat of an Italian family where Salis had been staying since 23 May to remove her electronic ankle bracelet and issue her with a document in Hungarian.

The Avs MEP was arrested on 11 February 2023 on charges of being part of a criminal association and participating in two attacks on three far-right militants in Budapest. She remained in prison for more than 15 months until the request made by her lawyers to be allowed to serve her pre-trial detention under house arrest was granted. After her election in Brussels with Avs thanks to more than 175,000 preferences, Salis was awaiting the proclamation and thus the documents certifying her status as an MEP. Her family had already bought tickets to join her to celebrate her 40th birthday in Budapest on Monday, but now Salis will be able to celebrate it in Italy.

"Yes, a nightmare is over. Thus Roberto Salis, Ilaria's father, immediately after arriving in Monza with his daughter. "Some things remain to be put right because the trial has been suspended anyway. Now we have to make sure that this accusation for which Ilaria believes she is innocent is cancelled'. The trip 'went very well. Ilaria is very tired, tried,' he added. "She has had a very intense period of imprisonment and has suffered torture. Now she needs to rest, it will take some time. We brought her back here with all the hard work we did."