Milan prosecutors call for 5-yr jail term for Berlusconi in judge-bribing case |
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Mon, 26 Mar 2007 14:56
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MILAN (AFX) - Prosecutors in Milan called for a five-year prison sentence for former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, accused of bribing judges.'Mr Berlusconi was the driving force in this case,' said prosecutor Piero De Tetris, according to the ANSA news agency.Berlusconi, accused of bribing judges to prevent the takeover of food company SME by his business rival Carlo de Benedetti in 1985, benefited from attenuating circumstances when he was initially acquitted of the charge in a lower court in Dec 2004.The appeals court is expected to reach a verdict at the end of April.If convicted in the Milan appeal, Berlusconi could still take the case to a higher court.Several other people including judges and Cesare Previti, Berlusconi's former lawyer who entered politics in the 1990s, have already been convicted in the case.Berlusconi was tried separately from his co-defendants due to his engagements as prime minister and the case, which opened in 2003, was suspended when his government passed a law granting temporary immunity from prosecution to the five leading members of government while in office.The case was allowed to go forward after Italy's constitutional court annulled the law.Berlusconi was prime minister from June 2001 to May 2006.philip.webster@thomson.comafp/pw/twCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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