Antifa to Strike in Budapest Again + Video

Police in the capital are preparing for increased presence.

Few people know who Ilaria Salis is, the Italian newspaper il Giornale writes in its article about the Italian woman who has been held behind bars in Hungary for nearly a year on charges of taking part in antifascist attacks in the Hungarian capital in 2023. The paper recalls that Ilaria Salis, whose trial began in Budapest this week, was 18 years old when, in 2003, she founded the Boccaccio social center in Monza, a kind of garrison of illegality in the heart of the historic city of Brianza. 

The far-left activist, who was arrested with an expandable baton in her pocket, was for years one of the originators of the actions and activities carried out by the social center in Brianza. Boccaccio is well known in anarchist and far-left circles for propagating anti-capitalist and anti-militarist revolutionary ideologies. Last December, the social center celebrated the 20th anniversary of its foundation, its founder is imprisoned in Hungary, and Salis's movement has staged a street march. 

The far-left rioters vandalized the streets they marched through, smashing the windows of banks and shops and chanting slogans against the local mayor and the Meloni government.

Slogans such as "Steal everything!" or "Steal from the rich!" appeared on the walls as they passed through the streets in the Italian city. The social center in Brianza was evicted twice last year amid protests from residents who can no longer put up with living with these characters. 

You evict us and we are still here. We occupy when we want. We stay here, this city is ours. Foa Boccaccion is not afraid!

the rioters chanted during their latest demonstration. In early October, immediately after the outbreak of the umpteenth war between Israel and Palestine, at a demonstration organized by the social center founded by Ilaria Salis, protesters yelled: 

Intifada until victory! With the Palestinian people against oppression by Israel!

Now just a recap on what happened in Hungary last year. Shortly before the Day of Honor event, far-left activists attacked innocent passers-by in the streets of Budapest. The perpetrators, who came to Hungary specifically to commit atrocities, picked their victims on the basis of their looks. Nine people were brutally beaten up by those accused of committing a series of assaults as members of a criminal organization. Their trial began this week.

 

Antifascist lies escalate into international conflict

Reacting to false information about demeaning prison conditions, the Italian diplomacy went out of its way to have the far-left activist Ilaria Salis moved to house arrest in Italy. The 39-year-old Italian woman, whose trial started on Monday, has been in prison in Budapest for nearly a year. She is accused of taking part in the street attacks.

The Italian press has strongly criticized prison conditions and treatment in Hungary, citing complaints from the accused woman's father. Matteo Salvini, secretary of the Lega party currently in government, also commented on the woman's case, describing it as absurd that Ilaria Salis worked as a school teacher in Italy. According to press sources, the Lega party issued a statement confirming that 

in 2017, Salis was prosecuted for storming a Lega stand in Monza with ten other activists.

The statement called the court footage of Ilaria Salis in handcuffs shocking, but added that the Italian woman had also been involved in violent attacks in Italy, pointing out that she and ten other activists had vandalized the Lega's stand on February 18, 2017. The group threw insults and spat at two Lega members at the scene. The statement also said that the defense lawyer of the person assaulted is ready to look into the circumstances of the serious political incident.

Matteo Salvini stressed that everyone has the right to voice their dissent, but that it must not turn into violence. Salvini told La Repubblica:

It is not normal for a primary school teacher to travel around Italy and Europe beating people up and spitting on them. If she is guilty, she should pay for what she has done. The crime was committed in Hungary, so the trial must take place there, with respect for the Hungarian prosecutor's office.

In response to the attacks from the Italian left, he said that if they fight for respect for the judiciary, they should also respect the Hungarian prosecutor's office. Finally, he said that he was concerned about the possibility of like-minded people being around children aged six or seven, adding that he did not think that Salis should be allowed to work as a teacher.

Prison inspection by the press

At a regular government press briefing on Thursday, Gergely Gulyas, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, commented on the case, suggesting that the Italian defendant was "untrustworthy" and pointing out that she had lied during the procedures concerning her qualifications, marital status and personal relationships. Apart from prison conditions, Ilaria Salis also complained about not being allowed visits. Gergely Gulyas highlighted that between October 2023 and January 2024, the Italian woman was visited by her immediate family and her lawyer a total of seven times in five days, and twice by a consular official.

Between March 2023 and January 30, 2024, she made a total of 323 telephone calls, and  a total of 13 monitored video calls, of which 10 were completed,

the minister said. The gravity of the committed crime is clearly shown by the fact that at the trial, where it is possible to close the criminal proceedings if the accused pleads guilty, the prosecution proposed eleven years of imprisonment, Gulyas pointed out. By not pleading guilty, the proceedings will continue and the prosecution will ask for a longer sentence, he added.

Once again, we are talking about those who have committed brutal violence against innocent Hungarian and non-Hungarian citizens, and this was the purpose of their visit,

Gergely Gulyas reiterated, stressing that falsehoods have been made regarding one member of an antifascist criminal group. They attacked their victims from behind when committing the crimes. Respect for human dignity must be ensured even for those who commit crimes with animal instincts. In the specific case, the detention conditions of the woman in question were in line with the European Union and Hungarian standards, both in terms of health care and hygiene.

The day before the government briefing, the prison service invited the press to inspect conditions in the prison and the woman's cell in Gyorskocsi Street.  In the detention facility, the colonel leading the inspection told the journalists that inmates and detainees were held in accordance with all regulations, including the conditions or the quality of provision. 

 

Far-left activists prepare for action this year again

Meanwhile, in an article Merce reported that far-left activists are preparing for this year's Day of Honor event on February 10. The Autonomia movement, which describes itself as antifascist, said they should take action against the march, which aims to falsify historical events and promote fascism. According to the members of the Autonomia movement, "even if not openly, the glorification of the Nazi past is part of the current government's policy of remembrance". They also pointed out that in Germany and Austria, it was not only the anti-fascist movements but also the local population that were seeking to curb Nazi events, noting that the problem was international and could only be fought internationally.

The Association of Hungarian Resiustance Fighters and Antifascists will also hold an event on the same day. They are organizing a protest demonstration at the Holocaust memorial on the Danube bank in Budapest. "We cannot watch idly with dismay that on the anniversary of the anti-Fascist victory, paramilitary groups in Nazi outfit from Hungary and abroad go parading and hailing Hitler in Budapest and elsewhere in Hungary," the organizers aid.

In a previous article, Merce interviewed members of several antifascist groups, one of whom described Merce as a comrade-in-arms in the fight against fascism. In the article, one of the activists also commented on the attacks by antifascists, claiming that they did not know which group had committed the crimes. The activist added that they see "no tactical or political value" in taking such violent actions. The antifascist activist also tried to defend the lynchers and claimed that fascists also commit such crimes, but they are not caught on camera.

Police preparedness

The Budapest police chief has ordered increased control over the entire area of ​​the capital on the weekend of the Day of Honor. The Budapest Police Headquarters announced that 

enhanced control will last from midnight on February 8 to 8:00 am on February 12.

The purpose of the measure is to prevent, detect and interrupt unlawful acts, as well as to maintain public order and security in the capital.

Cover photo: The smile of far-leftist Ilaria Salis reveals how much torture she suffered in prison in Hungary (Photo: Ripost)