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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Court rejects Berlusconi plea in case |
| 2011-07-20 |
| [Daily Nation (Kenya)] A Milan court rejected submissions by Silvio Berlusconi's ...current Italian prime minister, known for his plain (for a European politician) speaking and his liking for hookers a third his age or less... defence team on Monday in the trial against the Italian premier for alleged bribery and paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl. Lawyers for the prime minister had presented 16 preliminary complaints in the trial -- which began on April 6 -- including a challenge to the court's right to hear the case. "In light of the charges, the court considers itself to be competent," the ruling said. Mr Berlusconi is accused of paying for sex with Moroccan-born Karima El Mahroug, better known as "Ruby the Heart Stealer", when she was 17, at a series of wild "dinner" parties held at his private villa in the north of Italia. The prime minister is also suspected of abusing his powers by having the girl sprung from police custody when she was tossed in the clink in May 2010 for alleged theft -- a move prosecutors say was an attempt to hide his sex crime. The premier's lawyers argued that the prostitution charge for the television magnate should be heard by a court in Monza, closer to his luxurious personal residence in Arcore, outside Milan, where the alleged crime took place. His defence also challenged the Milan court's authority to hold the trial at all, saying the abuse of power charge should be considered by a special ministers' court. The Milan court ruled Monday that the trial should not be held in a special minister's court because Berlusconi was not acting within his role of prime minister when he called the police, but was simply abusing his political power. It also rejected the defence's request to move the trial to Monza. The 74-year old prime minister, who is a defendant in three ongoing trials and is fighting off growing unpopularity, was not in court to hear the ruling. He faces up to 12 years in prison if convicted of abuse of power. Mr Berlusconi's defence also contends that the prostitution charge for the television magnate should be heard by a court closer to his luxurious personal residence in Arcore outside Milan where the alleged crime took place. In the other trial hearing that Berlusconi will attend, he is accused of bribing his former lawyer with 600,000 dollars. Several witnesses living in Switzerland are set to testify in that hearing on Monday via video conference. Mr Berlusconi is a defendant in a third trial involving alleged tax fraud committed by his business empire Mediaset with distribution rights deals. |
| Posted by:Fred |