The elected Greek socialist is suspected of having interceded in favor of foreign powers, including Qatar, in the decisions of the European Parliament
Belgian justice decided, Wednesday, April 12, the release from prison and house arrest under electronic bracelet of the deposed Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, the last defendant still detained in the investigation into suspicions of corruption in Parliament . “She is under house arrest in Belgium and placed under electronic surveillance”said Antoon Schotsaert, magistrate at the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, to AFP.
The elected Greek socialist “will be released probably Friday or at the latest Monday”said his lawyer, Sven Mary, the time that the bracelet is placed which also requires a “administrative work”. Eva Kaili is suspected of having interceded in favor of foreign powers, including Qatar, in the decisions of the European Parliament for several years, in return for payments of money.
“We are not yet finished in this instruction”, assured his lawyer, who said he was available with his client to answer “to all questions” investigators. Eva Kaili should however be discreet with the media. “My advice at this stage will not be to give interviews and fight in the press”, added his advice. Belgian justice had already decided in recent days to electronically bracelet Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella and former Italian MEP Antonio Panzeri, two other key suspects in the “Qatargate” affair.
– “She cries out her innocence” –
“She has been crying out for four and a half months her innocence. We have not yet finished in this instruction”, assured Sven Mary, who said he was available with his client to answer “all the questions” from the investigators.
Eva Kaili should however be discreet with the media. “My advice at this stage will not be to give interviews and fight in the press”, declared his defender, “we must give him the opportunity to find his family and more particularly his child”.
Like Ms. Kaili, Marc Tarabella has always maintained his innocence.
Antonio Panzeri has agreed to cooperate with justice. This “repentant” negotiated a limited prison sentence in exchange for the commitment to reveal to the investigators all he knows of the system of corruption, in connection with Qatar and Morocco, which he admitted to having orchestrated.
“We will continue to fight for the truth (…) and this truth is not in the mouth of Mr. Panzeri, that is a certain thing”, commented Sven Mary.
A fourth suspect, Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino, was arrested and then placed under house arrest on February 11 in Italy. He challenges before the Italian courts his surrender to Belgium under a European arrest warrant. A hearing before the Naples Court of Appeal on his extradition to Belgium has been adjourned to May 2.
Finally, the parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi, a close friend of Mr. Panzeri and companion of Mrs. Kaili, had been placed under an electronic bracelet at the end of February after more than two months of detention in Belgium.
He was part, like his companion and Mr. Panzeri, of the first wave of arrested, on December 9 in Brussels, when the investigators had got their hands on 1.5 million euros in cash distributed in bags or suitcases .
Ms Kaili had not benefited from her parliamentary immunity because the offense had been found in flagrante delicto, “bags of tickets” being discovered in her apartment.
Qatar and Morocco have strongly denied being the source of any corruption.