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Prosecutors to seek immediate trial for Berlusconi

09 February 2011 01:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Italian prosecutors will on Wednesday request an immediate trial for Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, accused of paying for sex with an under-age girl and later using his influence on her behalf, APA reports quoting Reuters.
Once the request is submitted by Milan prosecutors, who believe they have enough evidence to skip a preliminary hearing and go straight to trial, the judge will have five days to decide, although the deadline could be extended by a few days.
"We’ll have a final meeting today on the procedural aspects and tomorrow we will forward the request to the judge," chief prosecutor Edmondo Bruti Liberati told reporters on Tuesday.
Milan prosecutors allege Berlusconi paid for sex with Karima El Mahroug, a Moroccan nightclub dancer known as Ruby, while she was under 18, the legal age for prostitution in Italy.
They say he later exerted improper pressure on police to have El Mahroug released when she was detained on separate theft allegations.
The prosecutors’ request will add to the pressure on Berlusconi, who has been struggling politically since a split in his ruling PDL party last year.
He denies any wrongdoing, saying he has never paid for sex and accuses politically motivated leftist magistrates of trying to drive him out of power.
He has acknowledged making a phone call to police on El Mahroug’s behalf, but says he was only helping a person in need.
Bruti Liberati said the case handled by Milan prosecutors would remain separate from another prostitution investigation by Naples prosecutors.
Berlusconi has so far refused to be questioned by Milan magistrates, arguing they have no right to preside over the case, which he says he wants to be handled by impartial judges.
Leaked wiretaps from the investigation have been splashed over the media, with references to bundles of cash, sex games and gifts that would-be starlets were alleged to have received after attending parties at Berlusconi’s villa. Lawyers for the 74-year-old media mogul have presented evidence to magistrates from dozens of witnesses denying accounts of wild erotic parties at his residence.
Berlusconi has accused "communist" magistrates of hounding him with spurious charges to try to remove him from politics, and he has made judicial reform ridding him of such legal headaches a priority since returning to power in 2008.
In December, he narrowly scraped through a parliamentary no-confidence vote and last month lost automatic immunity from prosecution after a court ruling.
The scandal has prompted growing numbers of protests throughout the country, often organised spontaneously or via the Internet, although polls show Berlusconi’s conservative voter base has largely shrugged off the affair.