Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will go on trial in April over allegations that he paid a 17-year-old girl for sex and abused his power by trying to get her cleared of theft, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Granting a request by Milan magistrates, judge Cristina Di Censo said the first hearing would take place April 6, in a move that brings a long-running probe into the Prime Minister’s private life to a head.
Following the announcement, the PM’s camp reiterated claims that he was the victim of a witchhunt by political opponents. “We didn’t expect anything else,” his lawyers said.
Mr Berlusconi, whose bedroom antics sparked a nationwide protest by Italian women over the weekend, will be tried by three women judges. In the trial, he will have to answer allegations that he paid for sex with a nightclub dancer called “Ruby the Heart Stealer”, who was 17 at the time. He is also accused of persuading the police to release Ruby after she was arrested for alleged theft.
Mr Berlusconi’s defence claims he did not abuse his power because he mistakenly believed Ruby to be the niece of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and had been dutifully trying to help a fellow leader and avoid a diplomatic fallout. —AFP