Kaili to remain in custody for one month
Former Greek MEP Eva Kaili will remain in custody for one month, according to a decision by the members of the Judicial Council at which she appeared on Thursday morning in Brussels over corruption and money laundering charges linked to the Qatargate scandal.
Kaili had reportedly requested, unsuccessfully, to be released with a bracelet. If she appeals within 24 hours, she will appear before the court of appeal within 15 days.
Her lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, had earlier told a TV station that the prosecutor was concerned that Kaili would attempt to flee Begium and even argued that would be abducted by the Qatari secret services.
In new statements to Mega, after the announcement of the decision, he argued the prosecutor did not put forward legal arguments capable of justifying the detention and attributed the decision to political motives.
Kaili was transferred early on Thursday morning to the Brussels courthouse from Aren prison where she is being held, accompanied by her Greek-born lawyer Andre Rizopoulos and criminal lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos.
“We made all our arguments. Ms Kaili has never been bribed, she is innocent,” Dimitrakopoulos told journalists outside the courtroom. Rizopoulos added that “Kaili is actively cooperating in the investigations of the judicial authorities,” while expressing his dismay that elements of the case file have been published in the media.
Kaili was arrested on December 9 and charged with corruption and laundering as were her three co-defendants – her partner Francesco Giorgio, the Italian former MEP Antonio Panceri and the lobbyist Niccolo Talamanca. The latter three pleaded guilty last Wednesday, with reports that Giorgio pleaded guilty while trying to exonerate his partner. Kaili, on the contrary, asked for and received an adjournment in an attempt to separate her position and present herself as a victim of her Italian partner.
