Second appeal for Ilaria Salis; conviction quashed on procedural grounds

A second appeal from the MEP for the Green and Left Alliance,  Ilaria Salis. The judges of the Milan Court of Appeal – Labour Division – have, in fact, upheld the request to set aside the first-instance judgement made by Salis’s lawyers; consequently, the Court will have to rule again on the dismissal of two former staff members who, last March, following a trial in their absence, were awarded total compensation of approximately 300,000 euros for having been dismissed without just cause.

This was ruled by the panel chaired by Silvia Marina Ravazzoni following the hearing at which the politician’s lawyers had sought the annulment of the verdict handed down. According to the lawyers, ‘following a trial initiated by means of a non-existent service of process’: there had reportedly been only one attempt by the bailiff, despite a known place of residence and a known certified email address. ‘The unwitting default’, the lawyers argued, ‘would have prevented her from exercising her right to a defence’, namely to highlight the ‘deterioration of the relationship of trust’ between Ilaria Salis and the two former colleagues who sued her. The MEP’s right to a defence would thus have been violated due to a procedural irregularity.

Ilaria Salis, who posted an emoji on social media to mark her victory, expressed her delight at the Regional Court’s decision. “I welcome the decision of the Milan Court of Appeal, which has recognised the nullity (...) of the first-instance judgement. As I have maintained from the outset, I was not in a position to be made aware of the proceedings or to exercise my right to a defence.” The “first-instance trial took place in my complete and blameless absence. A surreal situation.”

Salis then pointed the finger at media pillory. ‘Today’s decision therefore overturns the first-instance judgement. In recent months, a first-instance judgement handed down without a hearing has been at the centre of a shameful media smear campaign, orchestrated by the usual smear machine that systematically targets, even using underhand methods, those on the left who stand their ground and refuse to bow their heads. A campaign that has had serious repercussions on my health, my public image and my reputation. I therefore reserve the right – Salis announced – to take all appropriate action through the relevant channels to protect my rights and to assess the possibility of obtaining compensation for the damages suffered. In the meantime, I shall continue to devote myself with even greater determination to my work and to the political battles for which I was elected. My mandate is to serve the more than 176,000 people who have placed their trust in me.”