Lawyers representing Eva Kaili have asked the European Parliament to investigate whether her parliamentary immunity was violated as part of investigations into the so-called Qatargate cash-for-influence scandal.
In an interview with Euronews, Christophe Marchand and Sven Mary said they had requested a hearing before the parliament’s legal affairs (JURI) committee to present what they claim to be evidence of a breach of the Greek MEP’s right to parliamentary protection.
They hope that if the parliament found her arrest to have violated the institution’s rules on immunity, designed to protect lawmakers from arbitrary political persecution, it would support their case in the Belgian courts.
“The parliamentary protection of Eva Kaili was not respected and for that there are consequences. One consequence is that she cannot be prosecuted for that,” Marchand explained.
Voir : Corruption scandal: Kaili lawyers ask EU parliament to probe possible immunity breach.