In an interview with Athenian weekly To Vima on Saturday, Eva Kaili stated that if she cannot prove her innocence to Belgian justice, she will never return to her home country. Kaili is the last suspect still in custody in relation to a corruption investigation in the European Parliament. On Friday, she was released on an electronic bracelet, following the release of Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella and former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri under the same conditions. Along with other individuals, Kaili is suspected of intervening in decisions of the European Parliament in favor of Qatar and Morocco in exchange for payments. However, both countries deny any wrongdoing. Kaili spent four months in prison before being released to house arrest in her Brussels apartment with her daughter. Her lawyer stated that Kaili wishes to return to European Parliament meetings following the judicial proceedings have concluded.
“If I don’t manage to convince Belgian justice of my innocence, I will never return to my country of origin,” Ms Kaili told the Athens weekly To Vima on Saturday.
The last suspect still imprisoned in the context of the corruption investigation that shook the European Parliament, Eva Kaili was released on an electronic bracelet on Friday, the day following the release of Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella and the former MEP Italian Pier Antonio Panzeri, under the same conditions. Arrested and imprisoned on December 9, she spent just over four months in prison.
Eva Kaili left Haren prison on Friday: “The fight continues. We will talk soon”
The Greek elected official is suspected, along with other protagonists, of having interceded in favor of Qatar and Morocco in decisions of the European Parliament for several years, in return for payments of money.
Qatar and Morocco, however, deny any wrongdoing.
“I will never admit to having betrayed the people who voted for me,” added the politician.
The latter spent her first night under house arrest, along with her daughter, in her apartment in Brussels, her lawyer Michalis Dimitrakopoulos told the Athenian news channel Skai, from Brussels on Saturday morning.
Eva Kaili “wants to return to European Parliament meetings [après la fin de la procédure judiciaire]“, punctuated the lawyer.
The release of Eva Kaili on an electronic bracelet marks another development in the corruption investigation that has shaken the European Parliament. While the Greek elected official denies any wrongdoing, the allegations once morest her suggest that she may have intervened in favor of Qatar and Morocco in exchange for payments. As the legal proceedings continue, Kaili has stated that she will never admit to betraying the people who voted for her. For now, she will remain under house arrest with her daughter in Brussels. We will continue to follow this story as it unfolds.