In a recent revelation, Corriere Della Sera uncovers the roots of the Qatargate investigation and the imprisonment of Eva Kaili by the Belgian Authorities. The Newspapers exposed the relationship between MEP Marie Arena and Belgian Prosector Judge of Qatargate. Arena’s son has business contracts with Michel Claise’s son. It questions why Kaili was implicated in the case without accusation, and her name was also not on case documents. Here, the question arises of how the Belgian authorities acted and investigated Eva Kaili.
Last May, MEP Andrea Cozzolino was placed under house arrest for three months at the request of Micheal Claise. Micheal Claise is the same Judge who suspended an arrest warrant for Qatar’s labour minister. Minister was accused of alleged interference in the European Parliament by Qatar and Morocco. Further, the charges were also not dropped against him. In the meanwhile, Qatar had helped in releasing Belgian activists from Iran. Here, the diplomatic connections worked between Qatar and Belgium. Claise resigned from the investigation shortly after this incident due to a conflict of interest. Followed by federal prosecutor Raphael Malanini, who was also later resigned. In the meantime, the arrest warrant for al-Mari has been permanently withdrawn.
According to Corriere, there were intercepted discussions between Pier Antonio Panzeeri and his MEP friend Marie Arena simultaneously. Despite the solid proof against Arena and disclosed wiretapped conversations of her, she was initially involved in the Qatargate scandal when Eva Kaili accused the Belgian investigators of favouring her.
Here, the one suspicious thing is that the evidence against Arena would come to light after the resignation of Michel Claise. It shows that the Belgian authority’s investigation was flawed. Despite the close links between Judge and Arena’s son, why did the prosecutors not highlight these things further? Arena’s ex-husband is also married to the current foreign minister.
The police also passed information to Judge Michel on the movements of another suspect, Hugo Lemaire, his son’s business partner. Lemaire emerged in the Qatargate case via wiretapping by state security at the home of the prime suspect in the case, Antonio Panzeri.
The police disclosed Lamire’s exact details, but Claise mentioned his name in his reports on July 19. Two hundred eighty thousand euros in cash were also found in Lemaire’s house, but he never suffered any consequences. Then, in December 2022, the police arrested Panzeri’s wife and daughter. However, more was needed for the prosecutors, who demanded more names.
Then, a twist happens. The prosecution implicates Eva Kaili without having her name on the suspect list. This complete scenario raises concerns about the credibility of the Belgian Authorities. Kailai suffered without any offense, and her political career was also jeopardised. European Parliament should take notice of Belgian authorities and recognize the violation of Eva Kaili’s Immunity.
