Silvio Berlusconi has not been proven to have bribed witnesses during the infamous ‘bunga bunga’ sex trial. One of his defense lawyers stated Monday that there is no evidence to support the claim. He called for the ex-Italian prime minister to be acquitted at a new trial related to the case.
Berlusconi was cleared by an appeal court in 2014 of soliciting sexual activity from minors and abuse of power. After being accused of having paid witnesses to clear his name, the billionaire conservative politician was again brought to the dock.
Federico Cecconi, lawyer, told judges in Milan that there is no evidence of Berlusconi’s bribery agreement with the women who testified for Berlusconi.
Cecconi said that the ex-premier should be released “because there is not a case to answer”.
Cecconi admitted that Berlusconi had given money to the women but stated that it was done spontaneously to compensate for the reputational damage they suffered from being linked to a prostitution case.
In May, prosecutors requested a six-year sentence for Berlusconi and sentences between one and six for 27 other defendants, including Karima El Mahroug, a Moroccan nightclub dancer.
The verdict will be announced in the latter part of this year, or early in 2023.
Berlusconi (86) has just been back to the Italian parliament after last month’s victory in national elections by a right-wing bloc, led by Giorgia Maloni, and including his Forza Italia party.
The original ‘bunga-bunga’ trial was based on allegations that Berlusconi had paid for sex with El Mahroug (better known in Italy as Ruby the Heartstealer), when she was 17. She is now 29.
The sex took place at nighttime parties’ at then-prime minister’s villa. Co-defendants are other women who were present at the parties and who were called as witnesses in the first “bunga bunga” trial.
Berlusconi denied any wrongdoing and claimed that the events at his luxurious residence near Milan were nothing but elegant dinner parties.
The scandal surrounding the whole affair led to the fall of the Berlusconi-led government in 2011. After judges found no evidence that he knew El Mahroug was minor, the ex-premier was allowed to appeal.
Berlusconi is the founder of Mediaset, the media company that produces news and has been the leader of Forza Italia, a conservative party. He has been accused of corruption four times, which he has denied.