BRESCA, Italy (Archyde.com) – An Italian court on Monday agreed to hand over to Belgian authorities a second woman suspected of involvement in a Qatar-related corruption scandal that has rocked the European Parliament.
An appeals court in the northern city of Brescia said Silvia Pantsiri might be extradited, following she had twice postponed her sentence pending a report on conditions in Belgian prisons.
Her lawyers said last month that the application should be rejected because of overcrowding in Belgian prisons. The judges requested information from Brussels regarding the prison system, which took several weeks.
Pantsiri, 38, is the daughter of former European Parliament member Pierre-Antonio Pantsiri who prosecutors in Brussels believe is one of the main parties to the alleged corruption. The former deputy denied any wrongdoing.
The same court, but with a different panel of judges, had already agreed to extradite Maria Dolores Colleoni, wife of Pierre Antonio Panzieri and mother of Silvia, to Brussels.
However, Colleoni remains in Italy because her lawyers have appealed her extradition decision to Italy’s Supreme Court of Appeal, which is expected to issue its decision on January 31.
