Judges in Milan today rejected a request by former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to halt his sex payments trial until after a national election next month, but allowed the key witness to avoid giving testimony in open court.
The three judges dismissed his lawyers' argument that his commitments as head of the centre-right coalition in the February 24th-25th election meant he would not have time to attend the trial.
Mr Berlusconi is charged with paying for sex with a minor, and denies all charges. The trial's last session is currently scheduled for February 4th, meaning a verdict could come before the election.
The nightclub dancer at the centre of the case, 20-year-old Moroccan Karima El Mahroug, more widely known under her stage name "Ruby the Heartstealer", made a brief appearance in court, wearing a white mini-skirt and looking relaxed and smiling.
She left shortly afterwards when Judge Giulia Turri said statements already given to magistrates would be sufficient evidence and she would not have to testify in open court.
With the election campaign now under way, the hearing has revived memories of the "Bunga Bunga" sex scandal that hung over Mr Berlusconi's last months in office before he resigned in November 2011 at the height of the euro zone debt crisis.
The 76-year-old media billionaire is accused of paying for sex with Ms Mahroug when she was under the age of 18, a crime in Italy, and abusing his office to have her released from police custody in a separate theft incident.
The former runaway is alleged to have been one of the main participants in a series of parties at Mr Berlusconi's villa near Milan, where several young women have given accounts of lurid striptease shows.
Ms Mahroug had been due to testify in December but failed to show up, telling her lawyer she was on holiday in Mexico. The prosecution alleged this was a ploy to try to delay a verdict.
The trial, in which dozens of aspiring show girls have described so-called "Bunga Bunga" parties at Mr Berlusconi's residences, is the most sensational of his legal cases and has received huge media attention in Italy and abroad.
Niccolo Ghedini, one of Mr Berlusconi's legal team, had argued that the election campaign and the accompanying interest meant the trial should be suspended.
But Judge Turri and the other two justices rejected this argument, saying involvement in political activity did not in itself constitute a reason to put a trial on hold.
"With this decision, the court is intervening very heavily in the electoral campaign," Mr Ghedini said after the decision.
"It's certain that there'll be a verdict before the elections; this is the intention of the magistrates."
Mr Berlusconi was not present in court, and the judges rejected his lawyers' claim that he could not attend because he had to attend a political meeting in Rome. It was not clear whether he would be sanctioned over his absence.
Ms Mahroug, who denies having slept with Mr Berlusconi, appeared in the trial as a witness for the defence but Mr Ghedini asked the judges to excuse her from testifying.
Mr Berlusconi is leading his centre-right People of Freedom party (PDL) into the election, although it is still not clear whether he will be running for prime minister.
Since entering the campaign in December, he has gradually improved his group's opinion poll ratings, but is still trailing far behind the centre-left alliance that is expected to win.
Mr Berlusconi's allies accused the Milan magistrates of trying to sabotage his election bid.
"The PDL is clearly bouncing back and magistrates are as usual entering the fray," said PDL deputy Enrico Costa.
Mr Berlusconi could be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison but would not serve time unless he also lost the two appeals allowed by Italian law, usually a lengthy process.
Reuters