Former Vice-President of the European Parliament Eva Kaili – one of the key figures implicated in the Qatargate corruption scandal – has claimed her complete innocence while also suggesting that Belgian MEP Maria Arena avoided arrest because she enjoys "special immunity".
Although the 44-year-old Greek MEP did not explicitly mention Arena's name – and vehemently denounced the interrogation techniques used by the Belgian authorities to extract suspects' confessions – she "wonders why" the 56-year-old Belgian has "had no problems" despite the fact that Italian former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri – who has already confessed to accepting bribes from the Qatari and Moroccan Governments – previously mentioned Arena's name to federal investigators.
"I did not receive money," Kaili told the Corriere della Sera, in an interview which was conducted last month but only published on Sunday. "I think Panzeri's repentance and confessions were obtained under threat. The message was clear: if you name names, we offer you a deal and release your wife and daughter from prison. They are methods not worthy of the rule of law. They did the same to me."
Maria Arena. Credit: EP Photo
She added: "During the first interrogation and before repenting, Panzeri mentioned the names of two Italian-speaking Members of Parliament and not mine and does not speak of me even in telephone intercepts. The first was arrested, the other person had no problems. I still wonder why. Maybe because [she is] protected by special immunity?"
When asked by the interviewer whether she was referring respectively to fellow socialist Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella and Arena, Kaili responded: "The names are in the documents."
'Justice is doing its job'
Contacted by Sudinfo about Kaili's remarks, Arena reiterated her position that she has "nothing to do with this story" and claimed that "justice is doing its job and it is doing it correctly".
"I am for the freedom of the press, write what you want," she added.
Arena – who, unlike Kaili, has not been formally charged by the Belgian authorities – resigned from her position as Chair of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights in January, after Politico reported she had failed to properly declare that her accommodation and flights to and from Doha on 8 and 9 May last year had been paid for by the Qatari Government.
In March, leaked testimony from Panzeri revealed that Arena had stayed at a luxury hotel in Marrakech in 2015 with the 67-year-old Italian on a trip largely funded by the Moroccan Government. However, Panzeri also claimed that Arena was unaware of who actually sponsored the trip.
Indeed, since formally agreeing to cooperate with the Belgian authorities in January this year, Panzeri has repeatedly attempted to absolve Arena of any wrongdoing. Panzeri's lawyer, Laurent Kennes, has previously cited his client's desire to exonerate Arena as one of the key reasons why he eventually decided to confess.
"One of the reasons why Mr Panzeri wanted to speak out is because he knows that he betrayed the trust of certain people and Maria Arena is one of them," Kennes said. "He believes that she is a very upright person, who should not have been accused as is the case here. He will quote her name to say that she has absolutely nothing to do [with the scandal]."
