Magistrates request immediate sex trial

Italian prosecutors yesterday requested that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi be put on trial immediately for abuse of power and having sex with an underage girl nicknamed Ruby the Heartstealer.

Mr Berlusconi reacted by calling the request a “farce,” condemning his accusers for acting “subversively” and dismissing their case as a pretext by a politically-biased judiciary to smear him in the media and eventually oust him.

Chief prosecutor Edmondo Bruti Liberati and his fellow judges allege that the 74-year-old leader paid for sex with nightclub dancer Ruby, who was 17 at the time, and improperly used his power as Prime Minister by asking police to release her after she had been arrested for suspected theft in May.

Using the services of prostitutes is not a crime in Italy, but paying for sex with a girl under the age of 18 is illegal. Mr Berlusconi has denied ever paying for sex, let alone with Ruby, who only turned 18 in November 2010.

Under Italian law, the fast-track procedure of summary judgment, which skips preliminary hearings and goes straight to trial, can be requested by the public prosecutor’s office when there is clear evidence of an offence.

But Mr Berlusconi’s lawyers claim the Italian leader did not abuse his power when he told police to release Ruby, because he wrongly believed she was the niece of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

Mr Berlusconi said yesterday he had been carrying out his duty by helping a fellow leader and avoiding diplomatic fallout and international embarrassment. But the prosecutors also submitted a legal memo rejecting the claim.

Examining magistrate Cristina Di Censo will now have at least five days to come to a decision and could fix a start date for the trial for sometime in the coming months.

Should she decide the request lacks sufficient proof to warrant a speedy trial, magistrates will have to try to bring Mr Berlusconi into court through lengthier channels.

Ms Di Censo will also have to rule on whether the Milan court is competent to judge the case.

Mr Berlusconi’s lawyers claim he can only be judged by a special court for members of Parliament. Should Ms Di Censo give the Milan court the nod, Mr Ghedini has said he will appeal and the motion will go to a vote in the Chamber of Deputies, where Mr Berlusconi’s coalition has the majority.

The probe into the premier’s allegedly wild sex life was made public on January 14, a day after a court partially stripped him of political immunity.

The Prime Minister flatly refused to obey a summons for questioning, claiming the magistrates were not qualified to handle the case.