Former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri's lawyers have reacted to an investigator's comments to the effect that the key suspect turned informant was lying in the Qatarargate case.
Lawyers Laurent Kennes and Marc Uyttendaele said they were "appalled by the bias of this investigator and by the content of his statements". In their view, these remarks "show major hostility" not only towards their client, "but also towards the country's judicial and political authorities".
Panzeri's two lawyers told Belga that they had asked the investigating judge and the federal prosecutor's office "what action they intend to take on this particularly serious situation". They spoke of a new "media lynching" of their client.
The two lawyers also note "that this recording dates back nine months and that, since then, nothing has led the judicial authorities to question their client's word and, consequently, his status as a repentant".
For his part, Pier Antonio Panzeri "will continue to respect the secrecy of the investigation and will not respond to any media questioning on the substance of the case", his lawyers warned.
Francesco Giorgi, partner of Eva Kaili is seen at the new Haren Prison, in Brussels, Friday 14 April 2023. Credit: Belga / Jonas Roosens
On Monday, audio extracts were revealed by several media, in which an investigator in the Qatargate case asserts that Pier Antonio Panzeri, who has been charged in the case and has repentant status, is lying. These comments were made on 3 May 2023 to another defendant, Francesco Giorgi, who recorded the conversation without the police officer's knowledge.
"We don't believe anything he says. We know very well that he's making fun of us," Giorgi, a senior inspector at the Central Office for the Repression of Corruption (OCRC) of the Federal Judicial Police (PJF), is quoted as saying in the recording.
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office said it had taken note of the document. The conversation "appears to have taken place during the return to the accused of a piece of evidence that belonged to him", it said in a statement on Monday.
The Public Prosecutor's Office also indicated that proceedings were underway before the Brussels Chamber of Indictments to examine "the legality of a certain number of investigative acts". He added that "the conclusions of the ruling (of the Indictments Division) will of course be taken into account in the investigation".
The Federal Public Prosecutor's Office is investigating attempts by Qatar and Morocco to influence the economic and political decisions of the European Parliament through corruption.
Several people have been charged, including former MEP Pier Antonio Panzeri, former EP Vice-President Eva Kaili and her partner Francesco Giorgi, Belgian MEP Marc Tarabella and Italian MEP Andrea Cozzolino.
