The Brussels Court of First Instance on Wednesday extended the pre-trial detention of several of those arrested late last week in an anti-corruption operation for alleged bribes paid by Qatar to MEPs and European Parliament assistants to gain political and economic weight in the EU.
Throughout the day three of the four suspects who remain in prison have appeared, including the former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri and parliamentary assistant Francesco Giorgi, in turn partner of the vice president of the European Parliament dismissed by its relationship with the case, Eva Kaili.
In the case of Panzeri and Giorgi, the Court has confirmed the pre-trial detention in a decision communicated after a hearing held behind closed doors; the lobbyist Nicolo Figa-Talamanca will also remain in custody but under the modality of electronic bracelet, the Prosecutor’s Office has specified in a statement.
Kaili, who requested an adjournment and is the only one of the four detainees who did not participate in the hearing on Wednesday, will also remain in prison at least until her appearance in court next Thursday, December 22.
