Photo: YouTube (screenshot)
Panzeri was arrested by the Belgian authorities on December 9. According to the Italian press, he will soon be released from Saint-Gilles prison. The Italian politician must remain in his home in Brussels and wear an electronic handcuff on his leg.
At the end of January, Panzeri made a plea deal with the investigators, as part of which he managed to agree with the court on a one-year prison sentence. He previously testified that he gave Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella an amount between 120,000 and 140,000 euros “for his assistance in handling matters related to Qatar.”
The Greek socialist Eva Kaili and her three companions were arrested on December 9 by the Belgian authorities as part of an investigation into a corruption case. The ex-vice president’s partner, the Italian Francesco Giorgi, who was also arrested, later admitted that he was a member of a lobby organization with the help of which Morocco and Qatar tried to influence the decisions of the EP.
So far, five people have been charged in the case: in addition to Eva Kaili, Marc Tarabella and Francesco Giorgi, the fourth is Pier Antonio Panzeri, who, in addition to his work as an EP representative, was also the founder and president of the NGO Fight Impunity and the fifth is lobbyist Niccolo Figa-Talamanca, director of the NGO No Peace Without Justice.
