Belgian justice on Tuesday decided the release from prison and house arrest under electronic bracelet of MEP Marc Tarabella, one of the main suspects in the so-called "
Qatargate
" corruption investigation.
The Council Chamber, the detention control court, had first decided to keep him in prison, but the Belgian MEP appealed and finally obtained to be placed under an electronic bracelet, Antoon told AFP Schotsaert, magistrate at the Federal Prosecutor's Office.
The elected socialist has been imprisoned since February 11.
Challenged by another MP
This placement under bracelet comes five days after an identical measure in favor of the former Italian MEP Antonio Panzeri, another key figure in this scandal which shook the European Parliament.
Among those remanded in custody in this case, only the ousted Vice-President of the European Parliament, Eva Kaili, is still being held in prison.
A hearing is scheduled for Thursday to decide on the continuation of the detention of the Greek elected official, explained Antoon Schotsaert.
Read also“Qatargate”: a second MEP in detention
Marc Tarabella and Eva Kaili are suspected of having interceded in favor of foreign powers in the decisions of the European Parliament for several years, in return for payments of money.
They have always maintained their innocence.
Antonio Panzeri agreed to cooperate with justice.
This "
repentant
" negotiated a limited prison sentence in exchange for the commitment to deliver to the investigators all he knows of the system of corruption, in connection with Qatar and Morocco, which he admitted to having orchestrated.
He notably implicated Marc Tarabella.
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.
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Finally, the parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi, a close friend of Antonio Panzeri and companion of Eva Kaili, was placed under an electronic bracelet at the end of February after more than two months of detention in Belgium.
He was part of the first wave of arrests, on December 9 in Brussels, when investigators got their hands on 1.5 million euros in cash distributed in bags or suitcases.
Qatar and Morocco have strongly denied being the source of any corruption.