Italy court acquits former PM Silvio Berlusconi of bribing witness in underage prostitution case
- Berlusconi was charged with paying an Italian singer US$162,000 to lie in a previous trial where he was accused of paying to have sex with a 17-year-old dancer
- Berlusconi pleaded not guilty in the bribery trial and Rome prosecutor Roberto Felici told the court on Thursday that charges should be dropped
An Italian court on Thursday acquitted former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi of bribing a witness in a 2013 underage prostitution case, giving a boost to the veteran politician weeks after his return to parliament.
Berlusconi, 86, was charged with allegedly paying Italian singer Mariano Apicella €157,000 (US$162,000) to lie in a previous trial where he was accused of paying to have sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan nightclub dancer.
Berlusconi, leader of the Forza Italia (Go Italy!) party that is backing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s newly installed government, was eventually acquitted in that case.
He pleaded not guilty in the subsequent bribery trial and Rome prosecutor Roberto Felici told the court on Thursday that charges should be dropped.
The judges agreed and also acquitted Apicella of receiving bribes, additionally clearing him of perjury allegations because the time limit for reaching a verdict had passed.
“This was an impeccable ruling because there was no evidence of corrupt deals,” Berlusconi’s lawyer Franco Coppi told reporters, adding his client had called him to express satisfaction with the verdict.
Apicella was a regular guest singer at many of Berlusconi’s so-called Bunga Bunga parties that triggered the scandal contributing to the media magnate’s downfall as prime minister in 2011, marking the end of his fourth government.
