A court in Brescia on Thursday
ordered that the wife and daughter of former Italian MEP Antonio
Panzeri, a central figure in the 'Qatargate' corruption scandal,
be released from house arrest after the Belgian authorities
dropped a request for their extradition.
Panzeri has started cooperating with Belgian prosecutors probing
alleged attempts by Qatar and Morocco to influence EU affairs
via bribery after last week cutting a plea bargain for a
one-year jail term.
He has been charged with corruption along with fellow Italians
Francesco Giorgi, an assistant to Democratic Party (PD) MEP
Andrea Cozzolino, and Niccolo' Figa'-Talamanca, the secretary
general of the No Peace Without Justice NGO.
Greek MEP Eva Kaili, who was removed from her position as
European Parliament vice president after the scandal exploded
and has been in jail since December 9, has been charged too.
She is Giorgi's partner.
A Brussels court on Thursday is holding hearings to rule on
whether Giorgi and Figa'-Talamanca should remain in jail.
Cozzolino, meanwhile, told the European Parliament's justice
committee this week that he was ready to forego his immunity
from prosecution.
The committee is set to hold a first vote on January 31 on
whether to grant prosecutor's requests for the immunity of
Cozzolino and Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella to be removed.
The floor of the European Parliament will have the final say.
Cozzolino, who denies any wrongdoing, told the committee that he
was the victim of a "violent press campaign that is devastating
my family on the basis of a mew suspicion".
He has been suspended by the PD and he suspended himself from
the Socialist (S&D) caucus in the European Parliament
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