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Silvio Berlusconi ’not worried’ by looming trial

17 February 2011 03:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Silvio Berlusconi has said he is "not at all worried" about a looming trial in which he is accused of abuse of power and paying for sex with an underage prostitute, vowing to remain at the helm until his term expires in 2013, APA reports quoting â€œTelegraphâ€.
Smiling and looking relaxed at a press conference in Rome, the 74-year-old Italian premier was asked repeatedly about the trial which will start on April 6, but eventually snapped: "For the love of the country, I will not talk about this. Enough!"
He did not say if he would turn up for the start of the trial but April 6 will be the second anniversary of the Abruzzo earthquake, which devastated the city of L’Aquila in central Italy.
Mr Berlusconi’s lawyers could claim that he has official duties to attend to under a "legitimate impediment" law.
Prosecutors in Milan have compiled a 700 page dossier alleging that the billionaire tycoon paid for sex with a 17-year-old nightclub dancer nicknamed Ruby the Heart Stealer and that he then abused his powers by pressuring police to release her from custody on a theft charge.
Together, the charges could land him in prison for up to 15 years and see him permanently barred from public office. He has denied all the allegations.
Fresh evidence emerged, meanwhile, suggesting that the prime minister lied when he ordered police in Milan to release the dancer, whose real name is Karima El Mahroug, from unrelated theft charges on the night of May 27 last year.
He told police that she was the granddaughter of Hosni Mubarak, the recently deposed Egyptian president, and that he wanted her released from custody in order to avoid a diplomatic incident.
But Miss El Mahroug told investigators on August 3 last year that although she had initially claimed she was 24 and from Egypt, she later told Mr Berlusconi she was only 17, and of Moroccan background, according to transcripts published by La Repubblica newspaper.
She said she made the admission in March â€“ three months before her arrest, because she was worried that the false details could jeopardise her chances of being registered as the tenant of a new flat he reportedly offered to put her up in rent-free.
Mr Berlusconi allegedly told her that she should pretend to be Mr Mubarak’s granddaughter, a cover story which would explain the apartment and money he was going to give her.
The teenager first met the prime minister when she was asked to a private party at his mansion outside Milan on Valentine’s Day last year.
She has said that she later attended one or two more "respectable" dinners at the palazzo â€“ a claim that is contradicted by prosecutors.
By tracing her mobile phone signal, they established that she spent 15 nights at the mansion between February 14 and May 2 last year.
She told investigators that the prime minister never asked for sex but that he made his intentions clear.
Mr Berlusconi’s supporters have insisted that there were no "bunga bunga" sex parties at his private residence and that the private dinners he hosted were respectable soirees.