Italy's Berlusconi sex trial gets underway

ROME, April 5 (Xinhua) -- The trial over Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's sex scandal will begin Wednesday, but a top aide said Berlusconi would not appear in court.

Nor will television cameras, as Italian Attorney General Laura Bertole Viale and State Prosecutor Manilio Minale agreed to reverse a previous ruling that would have allowed state broadcaster RAI to film the trial. They said the ruling was changed to prevent the hearing from becoming a "circus."

But it seems impossible to prevent that. Protesters and supporters have both said they would gather in front of the Milan courthouse, where the trial will start at 9:30 a.m. (0730 GMT) Wednesday.

Hundreds of journalists have been reporting on every micro development from the case ever since it was announced in February. And the witness list includes American movie star George Clooney and his showgirl girlfriend, Elisabetta Canalis.

Berlusconi is charged with paying for sex with a minor, a then-17-year-old cabaret dancer called Karima el-Mahroug, known by her nickname "Ruby the Heart Stealer."

The leader is also charged with abusing his position as prime minister to cover up his connection with el-Mahroug by pressuring police to release her from custody after she was detained over separate theft allegations.

The trial seems to be a kind of drama compared to the two other Berlusconi trials, where he faces much more technical charges including tax evasion and bribery.

According to Cabinet Undersecretary Gianni Letta, Berlusconi's closest aide, the prime minister will not be present for Wednesday's opening hearing, which is expected to focus mostly on procedural matters.

There is a chance that the trial could be aborted before it really gets under way. Italian lawmakers started debate Tuesday on a measure that could slow or even halt the proceedings.

They will decide whether the Milan court is the appropriate venue for the hearing, with Berlusconi's lawyers arguing that he should be tried before a special minister's tribunal given that the abuse of power charges relate to Berlusconi's position as prime minister.

However, the Constitutional Court ruled in March that the Milan court had the authority to handle the case.

But if parliament contradicts that ruling, the Constitutional Court would be forced to rule again and confirm the tribunal members.

Regardless of the parliamentary vote, Wednesday's hearing will take place. But if legislators vote against the court's authority, it means the trial could be halted in the future.

Berlusconi, a billionaire media tycoon who controls three of Italy's seven national television networks, denied wrongdoing in the case involving el-Mahroug as well as the others and insisted that he is a victim of the corrupt Italian judiciary.

As the cases approached, his ruling coalition fractured and his popularity dropped to nearly a historical low, but at least so far, his grip on power does not seem at risk.

Since he entered public life in 1994, Berlusconi has faced at least 17 official criminal and civil allegations.


Read More

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-04/05/c_13814440.htm

Italian prime minister to stand trial in sex case

A judge on Tuesday ordered Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to stand trial on charges that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl, then abused his authority by trying to get her released from custody after police picked her up on suspicion of stealing.

It was a major setback for the 74-year-old premier, whose personal entanglements have for months overshadowed the business of governing Italy. Berlusconi denies any wrongdoing and blames a plot by left-wing judges and his political foes to force him from office.

Whether he will lose his job as prime minister remains unclear. Despite a nonstop stream of scandals surrounding both his business dealings and personal life, Berlusconi has managed to stay in power owing to a fragmented opposition, the loyalty of his proteges in parliament and his control of most of Italy's commercial television.

Members of Berlusconi's People of Freedom party came to his defense Tuesday.

"The Italian judiciary, through a risible investigation, is trying to overturn the democratic order," said Maurizio Lupi, party deputy leader. "The (judicial) offensive against the prime minister has no precedent either in Italy or in the world."

But opposition leaders called for Berlusconi's resignation and immediate elections.

"Berlusconi should defend himself before the (court) as do all citizens who have nothing to hide," said Anna Finocchiaro, leader of the Democratic Party in the Senate. "But for his sake and that of the nation's dignity he should first resign."

The judge, Cristina Di Censo, acting on hundreds of pages of documents submitted by prosecutors, ruled that there was sufficient evidence to skip a preliminary hearing and proceed directly to trial, to begin April 6.

Berlusconi's business practices are already the subject of three other court proceedings. This will be the first to center on his personal behavior.

A self-made billionaire-turned-politician, he will not be required to appear in court himself, leaving his team of lawyers to combat charges that he paid to have sex with Karima El Mahroug, a teenage dancer who used the stage name Ruby Rubacuori, or Ruby "Heart-stealer."

While the age of consent is 14 and prostitution in general is not illegal in Italy, paying for sex with a minor is considered a crime.

Mahroug, who has since turned 18, regularly attended Berlusconi's notorious private parties, which guests have described in media interviews and in wiretapped conversations as full of prostitutes. The "bunga bunga" parties routinely featured stripteases and erotic games, attendees said.

Both Berlusconi and Mahroug deny they had sex. But Mahroug has said Berlusconi gave her jewelry and about $9,500 in cash.

Prosecutors allege that when Mahroug was arrested in Milan last May on suspicion of theft in an unrelated incident, Berlusconi's office applied undue pressure on the police to release her from custody, claiming that she was a relative of then-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and that her detention could cause a diplomatic confrontation.

Prosecutors accuse Berlusconi of intervening in order to prevent his and Mahroug's relationship from coming to light. Berlusconi says he stepped in merely out of compassion for a young woman in a tough spot.

His lawyers say that prosecutors in Milan have no jurisdiction over a case involving the prime minister. Berlusconi's defense team is also expected to argue that Mahroug is older than her official documents state.

The decision Tuesday came down two days after hundreds of thousands of women staged protests against Berlusconi in cities across Italy. They accused him of degrading women and reinforcing the sexism prevalent in Italian society.

After the decision was released, one of Berlusconi's attorneys, Piero Longo, said: "We expected nothing different" - apparently alluding to the fact that the judge, Di Censo, is a woman. The three judges who will hear the trial are all women.

Berlusconi denies that he insults women's dignity. He has said that, on the contrary, he tries to make women feel special and that loving women is preferable to being gay.


Read more:
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/02/16/2065642/italian-prime-minister-to-stand.html#ixzz1E6DJ4mA8