Italian MEP Ilaria Salis escapes court-ordered compensation after Milan appeal

A Milan appellate court declared void a lower-court verdict that had obliged Ilaria Salis, a member of the European Parliament for the Italian Greens and Left Alliance, to pay compensation to former aides Valentina Dadda and Francois Gelmetti. The appellate judges ruled that the defendants had not been properly notified of the proceedings, preventing Salis from exercising her right to a defence. Salis, who attracted international attention after being arrested in Budapest on suspicion of involvement with a foreign anti-fascist group, spent about fifteen months in detention before being placed under house arrest and later released following her election to the European Parliament.

Her legal team warned that any enforcement action to collect the compensation would be excessively harsh relative to her earnings and assets. The former assistants may decide within six months whether to refile their claim after the annulment.