Recused or not in the QatarGate affair, we will soon know. He will certainly have taken out his finest pen to respond to the attack by Marc Tarabella’s lawyer.
He is at the age of a pensioner but continues his profession. Michel Claise was born on January 6, 1956 and he is therefore sixty-seven years old. The writer judge – the man has published a good dozen novels – undoubtedly took up his finest pen this weekend. He had only two days to respond to accusations of “bias” made by Marc Tarabella’s lawyer, Maxim Töller. The latter filed a request for recusal of the judge. If the latter objects in writing, the Court of Appeal will decide.
Partial or not, Michel Claise is not afraid to attack the rich and the powerful. Whether they are in banking, politics, sports or crooks. A year ago, he gave us a long interview. The man had not hesitated to reveal himself, a little, in a bar located behind the Courthouse where he cooks the accused. This red wine lover was clear when asked about the state of health (financial and legal) of our country. “We are a hub. The figures are horrifying and concern counterfeiting, the VAT carousel, cybercrime, arms trafficking, prostitution… you exceed the gross GDP of Europe”. And again, he had omitted to mention the tons of drugs passing through Antwerp.
To combat these scourges, there are judges. Claise is not a modern-day Robin Hood, but he often presents the note to those he has caught in his net. The list is long, starting with the three (former) high-flying European parliamentarians he had put in prison. Panzeri, Tarabella, Kaili… not to mention Cozzolino, whom he wants to extradite, and Francesco Giorgi, the parliamentary attaché whom everyone now knows is Eva Kaili’s companion. Some are in Saint-Gilles, one is in Haren.
This article is originally published on sudinfo.be
