Qatargate, hearing for Cozzolino’s extradition postponed to 11 April. Michel Claise returns to lead the investigation

The Court of Appeal of Naples accepts the requests of the MEP’s lawyers and postpones the decision on extradition to Belgium for the third time. In Brussels, the court found the request for recusal of the investigating judge to be « admissible but unfounded ».

Brussels – While the Naples Court of Appeal decided to postpone for the third time the decision on the extradition of MEP Andrea Cozzolino to Belgium , the Brussels Court confirmed the judge who accused him of « participation in to criminal organization, corruption and money laundering” and who had requested its delivery, Michel Claise .

Cozzolino, under house arrest since last February 11 , presented himself this morning around 11 to the prevention measures section of the Court of Appeal of the Campania capital, accompanied by lawyers Federico Conte and Dezio Ferraro : after accepting the requests of the lawyers, the judges have ordered a new hearing on April 11th . The requests presented by the MEP’s lawyers relate to the validity of the international arrest warrant, the alleged role of the secret services in the investigations and the conditions of Belgian prisons, which according to the lawyers are incompatible with the health conditions of Cozzolino, who suffers from cardiac.

Meanwhile, the investigating judge Michel Claise returns to his post : the recusal request filed by the lawyer of the other MEP involved, the Belgian Marc Tarabella, was deemed by the Brussels Court of Appeal « admissible but unfounded », as reported from the newspaper Le Soir . According to the lawyer of the socialist MEP, Maxim Töller, the presumption of innocence towards his client would have disappeared. But Claise had rejected the request, forwarded on February 16, and waited until today to be able to return to the head of the investigation called Qatargate.

https://www.eunews.it/2023/03/14/qatargate-rinviata-udienza-cozzolino/