Berlusconi loses €12m case
2006-03-07 22:58
Rome - Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has lost his €10m court action for defamation against an Italian journalist about a book entitled The Smell of Money.
Judge Luciana Sangiovanni said Marco Travaglio had followed proper journalistic methods and had exercised his right to criticise the prime minister in the 2001 book, which investigated the origins of Berlusconi's wealth.
He ordered Berlusconi to pay the €15 000 costs.
Berlusconi's lawyer, Fabio Lepri, said he would appeal against the verdict.
"It's clearly an unjust decision that contains erroneous assessments in fact and in law and we trust that the sentence will be totally overturned," Lepri told journalists.
The prime minister, Italy's richest man, had sued for €10m in damages, claiming the book had besmirched his reputation.
The Smell of Money became an Italian best-seller when it was published during Berlusconi's successful election campaign in 2001, and was later translated into French and Spanish.
- SAPA