London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jul 13, 2025

Qatargate suspect Eva Kaili set for release to house arrest

Qatargate suspect Eva Kaili set for release to house arrest

The European Parliament corruption probe ensnared the celebrity Greek politician, who has been detained since December.

Eva Kaili, one of the main suspects in a cash-for-influence corruption probe at the European Parliament, is moving from jail to house arrest pending a trial, Belgian authorities announced Wednesday.

Kaili, a Greek celebrity politician, was among the first to be arrested last December, when authorities revealed a sprawling investigation into whether foreign countries, including Qatar and Morocco, were bribing EU lawmakers.

The so-called Qatargate probe also ensnared Kaili’s partner, Francesco Giorgi, and several other current and former EU lawmakers, including former Italian EU lawmaker Pier Antonio Panzeri — the alleged ringleader of a bribery network who struck a plea deal with Belgian investigators in January.

Since then, all the detained suspects have been released with an electronic monitoring tag, leaving Kaili as the only one in jail. She has maintained her innocence throughout the process.

After Wednesday’s decision, Kaili will soon join her fellow suspects with an electronic tag under house arrest, leaving Haren prison, in the north of Brussels. The transfer process normally takes several days.

Once out, she will head back to her apartment mere steps from the European Parliament — the institution she stands accused of helping corrupt.

“I can confirm to you that Mrs. Eva Kaili can go home because she was put under electronic monitoring by investigative judge Claise,” said Sven Mary, Kaili’s lawyer, referencing the Belgian judge leading the probe, Michel Claise. “At the moment, I don’t want to give any further comment besides that this decision seems only logical to me.”

Giorgi, Kaili’s partner, is also out of jail under house arrest but is not living in Kaili’s apartment, according to two people familiar with the arrangement.

Kaili’s release starts a new chapter in the authorities’ monthslong attempt to sort out who may have been under the sway of foreign governments while working in Parliament. But it doesn’t mean that the process is moving toward a trial any time soon, said Christian De Valkeneer, a professor of criminal law at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium.

“It doesn’t presume that the investigation is finished,” he said. In Belgium, De Valkeneer added, being released under electronic surveillance is considered an “extension of the arrest warrant, but with the only difference that the warrant is not executed in a prison.”

Still, the authorities will soon no longer have anyone in jail, raising questions about where the investigation stands.

For months, the prosecutors’ net only widened, as police arrested two more EU lawmakers, Belgian Marc Tarabella and Italian Andrea Cozzolino, as well as an accountant in Italy, Monica Bellini.

Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino belongs to the S&D group


But the action has slowed in recent weeks, with no more arrests and the gradual release of suspects to house arrest. Cozzolino and Bellini are also both still in Italy, where local judges have been asking Belgium for more information before making a decision on an extradition request.

Throughout it all, Kaili’s detention has become the subject of heated debate about confinement conditions in the Belgian prison system.

Kaili’s lawyers have kept up a steady drumbeat protesting her detention, even likening her situation to “torture” at one point. They stressed that Kaili had a 2-year-old child at home, and argued the two should be together. Italian European Parliament members also wrote a letter in February denouncing Kaili’s treatment.

Similarly, in Italy, lawyers for the two local suspects, Cozzolino and Bellini, argued it would be inhumane to transfer their clients to Belgium’s jail cells. Essentially, they alleged, Belgian prosecutors wanted to put people in jail until they flip.

Belgian authorities have mostly avoided responding publicly to the allegations about detention conditions.

Deborah Bergamini, an Italian parliament member, recently became the first politician to visit Kaili in jail. In a recent interview, the Italian lawmaker recalled Kaili’s dark description of her early days in jail.

“For the first six weeks, she was in a state of deep desperation and had suicidal thoughts,” Bergamini told POLITICO several days after her visit on March 31. “But after the first six weeks this changed. For the first sixteen hours, there was no running water, she couldn’t wash herself and couldn’t keep warm.”

Kaili, Bergamini said, felt she was being held in jail “as a trophy.” Several times, Bergamini added, Kaili reiterated the refrain: “I am subject to a political prosecution.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Kaili’s team started quickly spinning her move to house arrest as a step forward in the fight to clear her name.

“Eva Kaili comes out of prison with her head high and with dignity, she has not confessed to crimes she has not committed,” said the lawmaker’s Greek lawyer, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos. “She will fight for her innocence until the end.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
Labour Expected to Withdraw Support for Special Needs Funding Model
Leaked Audio Reveals Tory Aide Defending DEI Record
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
×