The China Mail - Greek MEP in Qatar scandal protests innocence but stays in jail

Eva Kaili, a 44-year-old former newsreader and until this week one of the vice presidents of the Strasbourg parliament, is one of four suspects charged with receiving bribes from World Cup host Qatar to influence EU policy.

The Qatar government has rejected any claims of wrongdoing as "gravely misinformed".

Kaili's lawyers have told AFP she is innocent and will fight the charges.

The four were arrested last week as Belgian police conducted a series of searches at the homes and offices of politicians, lobbyists and parliamentary assistants, seizing around 1.5 million euros ($1.6 million) in cash.

All four had been due to appear together in a pre-trial hearing in Brussels on Wednesday to discover whether they were to remain in custody pending their eventual trial and as the investigation continues.

- Case split -

But Kaili's Brussels lawyer, Andre Risopoulos, told AFP she had been unable to attend the hearing because of a staff strike at her detention centre, and her case would be separated from that of her alleged accomplices.

They are her partner, Francesco Giorgi, former MEP turned lobbyist Pier Panzeri and Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, who leads the human rights pressure group "No Peace without Justice".

"The case has been split," Risopoulos said, adding that she was now expecting a custody hearing on December 22.

Earlier, Kaili's lawyer in Athens, Michalis Dimitrakopoulos, insisted she was innocent and "did not know of the existence" of the cash found at her Brussels home.

Dimitrakopoulos suggested Kaili's Italian boyfriend, Giorgi, might have "answers about the existence of this cash".

Giorgi and Panzeri were remanded in custody and Figa-Talamanca was released pending trial but ordered to wear an electronic ankle bracelet, the federal prosecutor said.

Qatar is a key energy supplier to Europe, and plays an important intermediary role in several diplomatic disputes.

But it has also been criticised for the alleged mistreatment of migrant workers, most notoriously those who built the World Cup stadiums.

As Kaili remained in jail, her colleagues in the Strasbourg parliament scrambled to distance themselves from the scandal, stripping her of her vice presidential role and promising a wave of transparency reforms.

Speaking for the first time on the case, Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said it was "undermining... democracy at a time when populism prevails."

"I hope this affair will be resolved quickly," he said, adding that "it undermines the prestige of Europe."

- Hotel room stash -

She is the only serving MEP to have been charged. But several more have had their offices put under police seal.

A Belgian judicial source said 600,000 euros were found at Panzeri's home, 150,000 euros in Kaili's flat and 750,000 in her father's hotel room.

Kaili was one of six people detained. Four have been charged with "criminal organisation, corruption and money laundering" and two released.

Among those released was Luca Visentini, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, a global labour body that has pushed Qatar on labour rights.

C.Fong--ThChM