Imprisoned EU lawmaker Eva Kaili will make a new request on Thursday to be released until her trial for her involvement in the Qatargate takes place. Meanwhile, Le Soir reported that ten socialist MEPs, all Italians, sent a letter to European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola denouncing the conditions under which their former colleague is being held in the prison of Haren.
Kaili recently replaced Belgian lawyer André Rizopoulos with Sven Mary, a criminal defence lawyer who came into the spotlight when he took over the case of Salah Abdeslam, who was behind the 2015 Paris terrorist attacks.
It’s the third request of Kaili to get released, as the two previous attempts were rejected.
EURACTIV was informed that if this new request is rejected, the new lawyer will appeal the decision.
If the appeal is rejected, according to Belgian law, Kaili can make a fresh request in two months, not in one month, as it’s currently the case.
EURACTIV has also learnt that her Greek lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, will attend today’s hearing, but it’s going to be the last one, as Mary will take over the case fully.
Dimitrakopoulos will likely continue to defend Kaili in her cases in Greece.
Sources familiar with the matter told EURACTIV that the co-existence of Rizopoulos and Dimitrakopoulos has been hard, as they clashed over the defence strategy that should be followed.
Meanwhile, Le Soir reported that ten socialist MEPs, all Italians, sent a letter to European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola denouncing the conditions under which their former colleague is being held in the prison of Haren.
The letter was not sent by S&D as a group but was an individual initiative of specific MEPs.
Le Soir reported that Metsola is in contact with the Belgian authorities over the matter.
(Sarantis Michalopoulos | EURACTIV.com)
Source: euractiv.com
