Parliamentary immunity is the issue that concerns the Brussels courts today
More than a year after the spectacular police operation in Brussels that brought to light the "Qatargate" scandal, the future of the case before the courts appears uncertain, with some sources now talking of an impasse that could even lead to its being dropped prosecution, points out the response of Jean-Pierre Stroobants from Brussels with the above title.
The question of whether the trial will take place no longer seems taboo in legal circles, the journalist initially comments. "It will be 50-50," says a source who wishes to remain anonymous.
In any case, leaks and, in some cases, public statements by those involved – including Ms Kaili – have multiplied in recent weeks, confirming the nervousness of the various parties involved.
Federal prosecutor Frédéric Van Leeuw told RTBF in September 2023: “I have been a federal prosecutor for almost ten years and I have never seen so much pressure on a case. There are leaks everywhere, there are foreign judges who contact us and sometimes want to interfere in the investigation, there is an outburst against the previous investigator and his family. To me, that's disgusting." […]
Parliamentary immunity is the issue that concerns the courts of Brussels today, the report says.
More specifically, a section of the court is re-examining the legality of the investigation, at the request of Eva Kaili's lawyers, Sven Mary and Christophe Marchand, who consider that the immunity enjoyed by the Greek MEP was violated from the beginning of the investigation, which should render the criminal prosecution inadmissible.
According to the lawyers, the case did not start with the searches carried out in December 2022, but five months earlier, as indicated by the prosecutor's indictment calling on the investigator to take over the case and start an investigation.
Belgian investigators, alerted by a "foreign agency", were already trying to find out more about a "criminal organization" with "friends" in the European Parliament. In October 2023, the newspaper La Libre Belgique also revealed the existence of another report in another investigation, equally discreet, which was conducted simultaneously in a group working on the Israeli spyware Pegasus, capable of targeting all smartphones on behalf of certain states. The activities of several MPs were examined without lifting their immunity.
According to a judicial source, the Prosecutor's Office has gone on the counter-attack, disputing the idea that any irregularities have been committed, but now the case is being made that "Qatargate" could become "Belgiumgate", undermining the whole process.
In any case, this is the line of Mrs. Kaili, as she stated on December 9, 2023 in the Belgian newspapers Sudinfo. "In violation of my immunity, I was under surveillance by the secret services and the police," he explained [..].
We will have to wait until May and the next session of the Brussels court for the judicial outcome of the case. The Federal Prosecutor's Office even requested a review of all actions taken since the beginning of the investigation. In the meantime, the investigator is expected to continue her investigations.
Finally, it is noted that Kaili's defenders also want to shed a lot of light on the regime of penitence granted to Mr. Panzeri in exchange for his confession: was it really complete, as required by law, or were there conditions for the protection of certain third parties?
Response ERT – Paris: Thomais Papaioannou