SILVIO BERLUSCONI yesterday said that if a Milan court were to find him guilty at an ongoing trial, then that decision would be “barbaric” and proof that “Italy is not a democracy”.
To the surprise of many, the 76-year-old former Italian prime minister and media owner chose to make a “spontaneous declaration” during a hearing of the so-called “Rubygate” trial in Milan in which he stands accused of “abuse of power” and “involvement in underage prostitution”.
Dressed in a dark suit and looking calm and collected, Mr Berlusconi even stopped to shake hands with state attorney, Ilda Boccassini, someone who in the past has taken cases against him on charges of bribery, corruption, fraud and money-laundering.
He defended himself vigorously against the major charges, both related to 19-year-old Moroccan Karima el Mahroug, otherwise known as “Ruby”.
Saying that he had “never paid for sex in my life”, he denied he had had any type of “intimate relationship” with Ruby.
He said that he had believed her when she claimed she was 24 years old and a relative of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
He said it was because of her alleged family ties that he contacted Milan police on the night of May 27th, 2010, when she was arrested on charges of theft.
Given her family links, he had been keen to avoid a diplomatic incident of the type which befell Hannibal Gadafy, the son of then Libyan president Muammar Gadafy, arrested in Switzerland in 2008 on charges of violent behaviour. As for the so-called “Bunga, Bunga” nights, that terminology had come into being thanks to a joke that he himself had told, claimed Mr Berlusconi.
Various witnesses have said that the parties at his San Martino villa in Arcore, near Milan regularly became sexual orgies. Mr Berlusconi denied this yesterday, saying they were “dinner parties”, where he sat at centre table, “monopolising attention”. He said, “I can exclude, with complete conviction, that there were ever sexual happenings in my house .”
In conclusion, Mr Berlusconi touched on a familiar theme, claiming that he has been the victim of a political witch hunt by Milan magistrates.
“I would have liked to answer a lot of questions myself but 20 years of activity by the Milan state attorney’s office trying to invent accusations against me advise me otherwise . . .”
Actor George Clooney, a guest at Arcore, is due to testify at next Friday’s hearing. It is not clear if the movie star will attend the Milan hearing.