“Eva Kaili’s daughter has the right to be with her mother… Europe is not Belarus,” reported Amnesty International Italy, taking a position on the case of the deposed Greek vice-president of the European Parliament after the QatarGate corruption scandal was revealed.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper “La Repubblica”, the organisation’s representative, Riccardo Nuri, advocated the reunification of the couple’s daughter, Ariadne Giorgi, with her mother, who is involved in the investigation of the scandal and is being held in Harran prison in Brussels.
“A minor must live with at least one of the two parents, common sense dictates this even before International Law,” Nuri said.
“In the case of the imprisonment of Francesco Giorgi and Eva Kaili in Belgium, the not inconsiderable principle of the best interest of the child, their almost two-year-old daughter, is at stake.
“It is a principle enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Belgium also adopted in 1989.”
According to the Italian newspaper, her maternal grandfather has taken care of the couple’s daughter, whom Kaili allegedly saw – according to sources – in the Harran prison where she is being held.
For the representative of the Italian section of Amnesty International, “Italy has a better legislative situation than that of Belgium, because it allows minors not to lose contact, especially with the parent.
“If the latter is in prison, minors can stay with their mother, taking into account, however, the recommendation of the Council of Europe that, if this is to be done in an environment incompatible with the child’s health, alternative measures must be found, that is, definitely not in prison.”
For Nuri, “the most obvious solution” in the case of Kaili and her daughter “is that of house arrest” of the Greek mother.
He emphasised, however, that “it is not Amnesty International that will propose to the Belgian Court which measure to receive. The point is to consider the best interests of the child even in relation to any harm that might be done to the investigations if a measure other than prison were adopted. Otherwise, a paradox is created.”
“Belgium is not like Belarus, where they use minors by taking parental care away from their parents because they are dissidents. Here we are dealing with a corruption investigation that tarnishes an EU member state. I don’t want to imagine that a two-year-old girl is being used as a lever for years, because that would mean in this case that we are closer to Belarus.”
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