An Italian court has sentenced former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti to 24 years in prison on charges of complicity in the 1979 murder of a journalist.
Andreotti, seven times prime minister and a senator for life, was acquitted of the charges in a first trial three years ago in the central city of Perugia.
He will appeal the latest decision, his lawyers said. "It's a bitter surprise," Andreotti's lawyer Franco Coppi told journalists.
Andreotti, 83, has denied the charges. The case involves the murder of Mino Pecorelli in 1979.
The appeals court was sitting on Sunday. The prosecution alleges that Andreotti's aides, in collusion with Mafia gangsters, conspired to kill Pecorelli because he was about to publish revelations that could have ruined Andreotti's career.