“Ms. Salis yesterday confirmed a marked improvement in prison conditions,” Tajani said during question time in the Lower House.
“These are the results obtained” through our efforts, he added.
Images last month of Salis being led into in a Budapest court on a chain and wearing hand and ankle cuffs, and simultaneous unconfirmed media reports of substandard detention conditions including bed bugs, mice, filth and inhuman punishments led to public outrage in Italy.
The furore prompted Rome to protest and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to secure a promise from her Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orban that the defendant would get a fair trial in good conditions.
“The protection of Salis’ safety is the priority for the government, which has called for a fair and speedy trial,” Tajani told lawmakers.
“It is yesterday’s news that the court in Budapest has brought forward the hearing to March, a very positive development that indicates the willingness of the judiciary to speed up the trial as requested by the Italian government,” he added.
The next hearing had initially been set for May 24.
On Tuesday, Salis’ Hungarian lawyer told ANSA she would file an appeal to be moved from jail to house arrest by the end of February.
The procedure includes paying a bond worth some 20 million florins, or over 51,000 euros, as well as finding “a safe and surveilled domicile” in Budapest.
ANSA
