THE CONFRONTATION between Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi and the judiciary seems headed for further heated controversy, following confirmation yesterday that he may well be summoned to appear in three Milan-based trials over the next six weeks.
Milan chief prosecutor Edmondo Bruti Liberati yesterday confirmed that his office will next week request that the prime minister be summoned in a fast-track trial on charges of “exploitation of underage prostitution” and “abuse of office” in relation to the so-called Rubygate affair.
The preliminary hearing judge, Cristina Di Censo, is expected to make her decision within a matter of days and if she rules that Mr Berlusconi should stand trial, then the trial against him could begin in the next two months.
Two other trials involving companies owned by Mr Berlusconi are due to begin within the next month. A preliminary court judge yesterday ruled that a trial involving Mr Berlusconi’s Mediatrade company will begin on March 5th. A third trial involving Mediaset is due to resume on February 28th. Mr Berlusconi is charged with fraud, embezzlement and false accountancy in relation to both companies.
In typical fashion, Mr Berlusconi continues vehemently to deny any wrongdoing, telling a gathering of his People of Freedom party in Rome on Tuesday night that he was not worried about the forthcoming trials because the charges against him “are not only without foundation but they are downright ridiculous”.
Claiming “Italy has been hijacked by the judiciary”, he also argued that the Milan prosecutors have no jurisdiction over him.
In relation to the underage prostitution charge, the prime minister’s legal team argues that, given the alleged offences took place at Mr Berlusconi’s private residence in Arcore, outside Milan, then the relevant jurisdiction is that of nearby Monza.
In relation to the “abuse of office” charge, which sees Mr Berlusconi accused of having pressurised Milan police into prematurely releasing 17-year-old Moroccan Kharima “Ruby” El Mahroug, a regular guest at his Arcore parties, Mr Berlusconi’s lawyers argue that he was acting in his prime ministerial capacity when he phoned the police.
His lawyers claim that he rang the police station in order to avoid a diplomatic incident since he believed the girl to be the niece of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and that therefore the case should be heard by a special ministers tribunal, not by an ordinary court.
Extensive documentation in two dossiers sent to parliament’s immunity committee by the Milan prosecutors in the last two weeks, however, appears to reject Mr Berlusconi’s defence. That same committee is expected to rule today on the prosecutors’ request to search the offices of Giuseppe Spinelli, Mr Berlusconi’s Milan “bursar” and alleged paymaster for his party nights in Arcore.