Prosecutors ask for Mr Berlusconi to be Sentenced to five-year Jail Term

| Thu, 02/16/2012 - 04:26

Prosecutors ask for Mr Berlusconi to be sentenced to five-year jail term.

Italian prosecutors asked for former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to be sentenced to five years in jail on bribery charges.

The trial centres on a $600,000 bribe that Mills, the ex-husband of British Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, is alleged to have received from Berlusconi for not revealing details of his media empire in two trials against the ex-premier in 1997 and 1998.

Mr Mills was convicted of perjury in his absence in February 2009 and then acquitted a year later by the Italian Supreme Court under the statute of limitations.

While yesterday, prosecutor Fabio De Pasquale told the court in Milan that "it is certain, beyond any reasonable doubt, that the defendant is guilty", the case dating back to 1997, could be dropped as well later this year under Italy's statute of limitations if Mr Berlusconi's lawyers lodge an appeal.

Currently, Berlusconi is also on trial for tax fraud and alleged sex with an underage prostitute.

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