MEP Eva Kaili’s lawyer said on Thursday that she has been facing “medieval” situations during her interrogation by Belgian authorities following her arrest for alleged involvement in the Qatargate scandal.
Her lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos claimed that Kaili was recently forced to go through a 16-hour interrogation and was detained in isolation, with the lights on constantly and was denied a second blanket she requested because of the cold.
He made it clear that the “Medieval-style tortures”, as he described, did not occur in the modern jail of Haren but in police buildings, where the additional interrogations took place.
EURACTIV contacted the Federal Prosecutor’s Office for a comment, but no reply was provided by the time of this article’s publication.
Kaili made a new request to be released, which the Belgian judge rejected on Thursday, fearing that she may attempt to destroy evidence and alter the course of the investigation.
The Greek MEP insists that she is innocent and has no idea of the illegal activities of her Italian partner Francesco Giorgi and the alleged mastermind of the scandal, Antonio Panzeri. They have been both arrested and imprisoned since early December 2022.
But things have changed since former Italian MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri decided to collaborate with Belgian justice to shed light on the scandal, which has shaken the European Parliament.
EURACTIV was informed that Panzeri will take part in new rounds of testimonies due to start on 24 January.
A source close to the issue told EURACTIV that Panzeri has already referred to Kaili’s role in the scandal “in a negative manner” without elaborating further.
He allegedly also admitted that money had been received by third countries to “pay particularly EU lawmakers”, the source said.
Given that Panzeri will have to speak the truth to get a lesser sentence, Brussels stakeholders are already panicking about whose name could crop up and from which EU institution.
Qatar-gate: Panzeri gives Brussels sleepless nights
Former Italian MEP Pier-Antonio Panzeri, the alleged mastermind behind the Qatargate scandal, has decided to collaborate with Belgian justice to shed light on the scandal, which has shaken the European Parliament.
Given that Panzeri will have to speak the truth to …
[Edited by Alice Taylor]
Source: euractiv.com
