The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Siena filed an appeal on Friday against the acquittal of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the trial of manipulating witnesses.
In the first-instance trial, which ended in October 2021, the Court of Siena acquitted conservative leader and pianist Danilo Mariani of corruption in judicial proceedings, but the lawmaker requested that they both be sentenced to four years in prison.
Berlusconi is accused of bribing Mariani, a pianist who attends parties (called “bunga-bunga”) at their mansion, to persuade her to give false testimony about nights out with prostitutes. The Siena Court, however, ruled that the payments were not intended to manipulate the musician’s testimony.
This process is known as “Ruby ter” in Italy and has ramifications in other courts across the country. The lawsuits arose from the “Ruby” case, in which the former prime minister was acquitted of charges of prostitution and abuse of power against minors.
The name refers to Italian-Moroccan model Karima el Mahroug, alias Ruby, the centerpiece of the sex scandal that rocked Berlusconi’s image.
According to the Italian Public Ministry, the former prime minister reportedly spent more than 10m euros between 2010 and 2014 to manipulate witnesses in his cases.
Berlusconi was convicted of tax evasion, a penalty deducted from one year of social service, and is now a Member of the European Parliament.
source: Noticias
