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Friday March 29, 2024

Bunga bunga back in court as Berlusconi sex saga resumes

ROME: Italy’s top court on Tuesday was reviewing Silvio Berlusconi’s acquittal on charges of paying for sex with an under-age exotic dancer known as “Ruby the heart stealer,” in a case key for the former premier’s hopes of returning to politics.In a hearing which could make or break the media

By our correspondents
March 11, 2015
ROME: Italy’s top court on Tuesday was reviewing Silvio Berlusconi’s acquittal on charges of paying for sex with an under-age exotic dancer known as “Ruby the heart stealer,” in a case key for the former premier’s hopes of returning to politics.
In a hearing which could make or break the media tycoon’s aspirations to return to the country’s frontline politics, judges at the Court of Cassation will decide whether to uphold an appeal court’s decision to clear Berlusconi of the most serious charges he has faced in his scandal-stained career.
The AC Milan owner was convicted in June 2013 of having paid for sex with the dancer, whose real name is Karima El-Mahroug, when she was 17 — a year younger than the legal minimum for a prostitute in Italy.
He was also found to have abused his power to try and cover up what went on at his infamous “bunga bunga” sex parties, resulting in a seven-year prison sentence and a ban from public office.
A year later, appeal judges acquitted the billionaire, saying there was no evidence he had abused his power or that he knew the Moroccan-born dancer was 17.
Berlusconi was not present at Tuesday’s hearing in Rome, which began at 1030 GMT. Judges were expected to announce a decision by the end of the day.
If his acquittal is upheld, he will be free to spearhead opposition to landmark political reforms Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is trying to guide through parliament.
If the ruling goes against him, a fresh appeal trial will have to take place, an outcome analysts say would dent Berlusconi’s authority over his declining Forza Italia party and could be the final curtain in a political career which has seen him serve three terms as Italy’s premier.
“For Berlusconi’s immediate future, the outcome is quite crucial,” said Giovanni Orsina, an academic at the LUISS business school in Rome and an expert on the media magnate’s impact on Italian politics.
Orsina believes Berlusconi’s legal woes have helped Renzi dominate the political landscape over the last year.