Berlusconi verdict due after elections
2013-01-21 22:20
Milan - Former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi will not
face a verdict in a trial where he is charged with paying for sex with a
juvenile prostitute until after elections next month, according to a decision
by judges that could help his political comeback.
A new timetable of hearings set by Milan judges on Monday
shows the last session in the trial will be held on 11 March, well after the 24-25
February elections.
The decision will be welcomed by Berlusconi, who had
feared a verdict in the middle of his campaign for a fifth term in office.
Milan judges last week rejected his request to have the
trial suspended until after the elections.
Berlusconi, who has surged in opinion polls in recent
weeks but still lags the centre-left Democratic Party, is charged with paying
for sex with a minor, and denies all charges.
The judges on Monday again rejected a bid by Berlusconi's
lawyers to have the trial halted.
The lawyers, Niccolo Ghedini and Piero Longo, justified
their new request by saying they are both standing for Berlusconi's party in
the Veneto region and would not be able to campaign if the trial went ahead.
15-year jail term
Judge Giulia Turri said the argument was "too
generic".
According to the new timetable, the prosecutor in the
case is expected to make her final arguments and request Berlusconi's to be
convicted on 11 February.
Berlusconi could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison
but would not serve time unless he also lost the two appeals allowed by Italian
law, usually a lengthy process.
The nightclub dancer at the centre of the case, 20-year-old
Moroccan Karima El Mahroug, more widely known under her stage name "Ruby
the Heart Stealer", made a brief appearance in court last week.
Berlusconi is charged of paying for sex with her when she
was under 18, which is a crime in Italy.
He is also accused of abusing the power of his office as
prime minister to have her released from police custody when she was briefly
held over separate theft allegations.
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for 28 January.
