Quote:Riots break out in Rome after Silvio Berlusconi survives confidence votes
Hooded protesters set up flaming barricades as police baton-charge demonstrators in several parts of capital's historic centre

John Hooper, Rome
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 14 December 2010 15.37 GMT

Rioting today swept Rome after Silvio Berlusconi's rightwing government narrowly survived a censure motion in parliament amid claims he had bought his way out of trouble.

Hooded protesters set up flaming barricades as police baton-charged demonstrators in several parts of the capital's historic centre. Cars and council vehicles were set alight, and officers fired teargas at protesters.

Initial reports spoke of at least 80 police and demonstrators injured in the disturbances.

Some demonstrators wielded iron bars and threw paving stones during the most violent disturbances seen in Rome for many years. The normally sedate city rang to the sound of exploding firecrackers hurled by protesters.

By mid-afternoon two thick columns of smoke rose from the remnants of a barricade at the entrance to the historic Piazza del Popolo. At least two protesters, and an unknown number of police officers, were hurt.

In at least one incident police were reported to have been surrounded and beaten with bars and sticks. Elsewhere, eyewitnesses said police had turned on young people who were nothing to do with the demonstration and had beaten them.

The protesters included students demonstrating against a recently-approved university reform bill, trade unionists, victims of last year's earthquake in the Abruzzo region, and members of a revolutionary Marxist party.

Berlusconi had earlier survived a second of two votes of confidence in the Italian parliament, beating off a censure motion in the lower house by three votes.

The chamber of deputies voted against the resolution amid tumultuous scenes, with Berlusconi loyalists and rebels brawling inside the house.

The vote – 314 to 311 – was greeted by scenes of wild jubilation among the prime minister's followers, who waved Italian flags and shouted in chorus for his former ally Gianfranco Fini to resign as the Speaker of the house.

Fini led the rebellion against the governing majority that brought it to the brink of collapse.

The opposition, joined by Fini's mutineers, failed in their bid to unseat Berlusconi despite the efforts of three women deputies in the last stages of pregnancy who turned up to cast their votes against the government.

One, Giulia Cosenza, arrived in an ambulance. Another, Giulia Bongiorno, was helped into the chamber in a wheelchair.

The third, Federica Mogherini, of the Democratic party – Italy's biggest opposition group – who is nine months pregnant, won a round of applause from her colleagues after fulfilling a promise to get to parliament "unless my water breaks".

Police vans ringed Berlusconi's official residence and blocked the street in front of his private home. Surveillance helicopters hovered overhead.

During the ballot in the lower house there was a scuffle between members of Fini's faction and deputies belonging to the Northern League after a member of Fini's group switched her vote to the government.

Four members of the lower chamber had to be separated after one of them apparently called the defecting politician a "whore".

The prime minister and most of his followers had earlier walked out of the lower house in the final stages of the debate in protest at the heated rhetoric of Berlusconi's most implacable enemy Antonio Di Pietro, the leader of the Italy of Principles party.

"We have a prime minister derided and ridiculed abroad," Di Pietro said, going on to allege that Berlusconi had "bought opposition deputies to assure himself of a majority". Two politicians from the Italy of Principles party switched their votes in the runup to the ballot, prompting opposition claims of foul play.

Earlier, Berlusconi survived a confidence vote in the senate, the upper house of the Italian parliament. His coalition won comfortably, by 162 votes to 135. But its path was smoothed by the rebel group loyal to Fini – which opted for tactical abstention – and by four opposition members who unexpectedly switched their votes at the last minute.

A senator who did so was promptly expelled by his party, the Sicilian-based Movement for Autonomies. His whip accused him of "one of the most squalid examples of this buying and selling [of votes] that has turned parliament into a sort of cattle market".

Quote:Italian court to rule on Berlusconi immunity law
Constitutional court will decide if two trials involving Italy's prime minister can proceed

Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 13 January 2011 10.02 GMT


Silvio Berlusconi has said he is totally indifferent as to whether his 'ridiculous' trials resume. Photograph: Shane Mcmillan/AP

Judges of a top Italian court began deliberating today on whether to uphold a law shielding the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, from two trials in Milan.

The court must decide if the legislation complies with the constitution, including the principle that all are equal under the law. It is expected to issue its ruling today.

If the constitutional court rejects the law, Berlusconi's trials on corruption and tax fraud charges will resume.

Berlusconi said this week that the stability of his government would not be affected by the decision and that he was totally indifferent as to whether the "ridiculous" trials were suspended or not.

However, a rejection of the law would deal a blow to Berlusconi, who has been weakened by sex scandals, a fight with a former ally and a shaky parliamentary majority.

The law suspends court proceedings for up to 18 months if a defendant has a "legitimate impediment" stemming from being the prime minister or a member of the government.

The law drew accusations that it was tailor-made for Berlusconi, but his lawyer told the constitutional court this week that it was necessary to safeguard the right to a fair defence and that the Italian criminal code already envisaged cases of legitimate impediment, such as grave sickness.

Italian media reports say the 15-judge court is almost evenly split and might seek a compromise solution rather than a clear-cut ruling.

One option would be to allow judges trying cases to decide whether to accept claims of legitimate impediment.

Berlusconi is accused of bribing British lawyer David Mills to lie in court in the 1990s to protect his interests. Mills was convicted in 2009 of having taken a $600,000 bribe, but the verdict was overturned last year when Italy's highest criminal court ruled the statute of limitations had expired.

In the other trial, Berlusconi is accused of tax fraud in the purchase of TV rights by his Mediaset broadcasting empire. An offshoot investigation ended last year and might lead to another indictment if the immunity law is overturned.

Quote:Silvio Berlusconi investigated in teenage prostitution case

Italian prime minister also suspected of abusing position by putting pressure on police

John Hooper in Rome guardian.co.uk, Friday 14 January 2011 11.38 GMT

Silvio Berlusconi has been formally placed under investigation on suspicion of paying for sex with a 17-year old girl, according to a statement issued today by prosecutors in Milan.

He was further accused of abusing his position as Italy's prime minister by bringing pressure to bear on the police to cover up his alleged relationship with the girl, who was working as a prostitute. The two alleged offences carry sentences totalling 15 years in jail.

The statement said Berlusconi, who has not been charged, had been invited to present himself for questioning. The prosecutors said he had been formally made a suspect on 21 December, but the news only broke today on the website of the Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

Berlusconi's legal team said today the investigation was "absurd and groundless" and the allegations raised had already been denied by the main figures in the case. They called the inquiry a "very serious interference in the private life" of the prime minister.

The reported investigation concerns Karima el-Mahroug, otherwise known as Ruby Rubacuori or Ruby Heartstealer, a then 17-year-old Moroccan girl who told investigators last year that she had attended parties at Berlusconi's villa near Milan. One of these, she was reported to have said, ended in an erotic game known to participants as "bunga bunga".

The case came to light after Mahroug, first named in some reports as Karima Keyek, was arrested last May on suspicion of theft. She had run away from a care home, but instead of being returned to care she was handed over to a confidante of the prime minister, Nicole Minetti.

A half-British former showgirl, Minetti became Berlusconi's dental hygienist and, soon afterwards, a regional parliamentarian for his Freedom People movement. Corriere said police raided her office in Milan this morning.

Minetti is already under investigation for aiding and abetting prostitution, along with two other close associates of the prime minister, a newscaster on one of his three television channels and a showbusiness talent scout. Corriere reported that the police attempted to search the office of another Berlusconi confidante, but withdrew after it was claimed that the premises were covered by parliamentary immunity.

The age of sexual consent under Italian law is 14, but paying for sex with a prostitute under 18 is an offence that carries a sentence of up to three years. Politicians and others found guilt of abusing their position risk jail sentences of up to 12 years.

Berlusconi, who spent part of this morning meeting with his lawyers, gave no immediate reaction, but his education minister, Mariastella Gelmini, said the prime minister was the "object of persecution by certain prosecution services".

Quote:Berlusconi could face trial as alleged sex offender
The Italian prime minister has been formally placed under investigation on suspicion of sex with underage prostitute

John Hooper in Rome
guardian.co.uk, Friday 14 January 2011 18.49 GMT

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister. Photograph: Shane Mcmillan/AP
Silvio Berlusconi was tonight facing the potentially devastating possibility that he might be put on trial as an alleged sex offender.

The chief prosecutor in his home city of Milan said the Italian prime minister had been formally placed under investigation on suspicion of having sex with an underage prostitute. He was also accused of abusing his position to pressure the police.

The offences carry sentences totalling up to 15 years in jail. Berlusconi had not been charged, but had been invited to present himself for questioning, according to the prosecutor's statement.

The previous day Italy's constitutional court overturned key passages of a bill introduced by Berlusconi's government that would have shielded him from the courts. The double blow looked certain to weaken a leader whose majority in parliament has hung by a thread ever since he was deserted last year by his former ally and deputy, Gianfranco Fini.

The investigation concerns Karima El Mahroug, otherwise known as Ruby Rubacuori, a Moroccan teenager who told investigators last year when she was 17 that she had attended parties at Berlusconi's estate near Milan, one of which ended in an erotic game called "Bunga Bunga".

The period in which Berlusconi is suspected of relations with a juvenile prostitute, February to May 2010, coincides with that in which Mahroug is thought to have visited his estate. She has denied having sexual relations with the prime minister, but acknowledged accepting from him a gift of several thousand euros.

Berlusconi's lawyers said in a statement that the allegations were "absurd and groundless". They called the investigation a "very serious interference in the private life" of the prime minister.

Throughout the day, Berlusconi's political supporters kept up a barrage of outraged rebuttal, mingled with abuse of the prosecutors who had put him under investigation. The most serious accusation came in a joint statement by the leaders of the prime minister's Freedom People movement, decrying "the political use of justice to destabilise the political framework". One Berlusconi MP called the Milan prosecution service "a national disgrace".

The prime minister's followers argued that news of the investigation, which first emerged on the website of the newspaper Corriere della Sera, had been held back to do him maximum damage. Milan's chief prosecutor said Berlusconi had been formally made a suspect on 21 December.

But Antonio Di Pietro, the leader of the Italy of Values party (Italia dei Valori) and himself a former prosecutor, said: "On the contrary, the Milan prosecution service ought to be given recognition for having waited for the constitutional court's vote so as not to influence public opinion in the runup to that very important ruling."

Mahroug became a nightclub dancer in Milan after running away from her parents and juvenile care. Her involvement with the prime minister came to light after she was arrested last May on suspicion of theft.

Instead of being returned to care, she was handed over to Nicole Minetti, a former showgirl who became Berlusconi's dental hygienist and, soon afterwards, a regional parliamentarian for his Freedom People movement.

The Moroccan teenager was released following phone calls to the police from the prime minister's office, during which it was claimed that Mahroug, whose father is a street trader, was actually the granddaughter of the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak.

Police raided Minetti's office today and reportedly carried out computer equipment. She was already under investigation for aiding and abetting prostitution, along with two other close associates of the prime minister, a newscaster on one of Berlusconi's three TV channels and a show business talent scout.

Police also tried to search the offices of an accountant who works for Berlusconi. But the operation was cancelled after it was claimed that the premises were covered by parliamentary immunity.

The age of sexual consent under Italian law is 14. But paying for sex with a prostitute under the age of 18 carries a sentence of up to three years. Politicians found guilty of abusing their authority risk jail sentences of up to 12 years.

Berlusconi split with his second wife in 2009. In an interview posted this week to the website of the newspaper La Repubblica, Mahroug said she would be grateful to Berlusconi for the rest of her life.

She said he suffered from loneliness. "To the extent that I knew Berlusconi, he is not so happy. On the surface he may seem happy, because he has all that money, that career: a man who everything he touches turns to gold; everything he touches works. But that's not everything in life. Someone with all that money doesn't even have wishes."

Quote:Prosecutors detail sex probe against Berlusconi

By Silvia Aloisi
ROME | Mon Jan 17, 2011 10:19am EST
(Reuters) - A "significant" number of young women prostituted themselves with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, prosecutors investigating him said in a document made public on Monday.

The prosecutors also believe that Berlusconi gave some women free use of a string of apartments in a residential complex near Milan in exchange for sex, according to the document posted on the website of the lower house of parliament.

It details accusations leveled by magistrates, who are probing whether Berlusconi paid to have sex with 17-year old Karima El Mahroug, a nightclub dancer better known under the stage name "Ruby."

Prosecutors sent the document to the lower house to justify their request to search the office of a Berlusconi associate who they believe paid the women on behalf of the 74-year old premier. A special parliamentary committee is due to decide this week whether to allow or reject the request.

Berlusconi denies any wrongdoing, says the allegations are absurd and accuses the magistrates of acting illegally for political motives.

He said on Sunday he had never paid for sex and was in a stable relationship since separating from his second wife.

The conservative leader has seen off a series of sex scandals since breaking up with Veronica Lario, who filed for divorce in 2009 saying she could no longer be with a man "frequenting minors."

But the latest incident comes at a difficult time for Berlusconi, who no longer enjoys a secure parliamentary majority since a split last year with former ally Gianfranco Fini.

He narrowly scraped through a confidence vote last month, and last week Italy's top court struck down part of a law that gave him immunity from prosecution, leading some commentators to predict that the country would head to early elections.

The prosecutors' document says that Nicole Minetti, a Lombardy regional official who was formerly Berlusconi's dental hygienist, recruited "a significant number of young women, who prostituted themselves with Silvio Berlusconi." Minetti, who is also under investigation, denies the accusations.

"FLATS FOR SEX"

The document said that El Mahroug had told prosecutors that some women had been granted free use of apartments in Milano Due, a leafy residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Milan that media tycoon Berlusconi built during a 1970s property boom.

"On this point the investigation has revealed ample evidence," it said, listing the names of eight women whose apartments were searched by police.

The probe focuses on El Mahroug, who says she received 7,000 euros ($9,318) after attending one of Berlusconi's parties at his sumptous villa near Milan. Prosecutors allege that she went to Berlusconi's residence several times between February and May 2010, when she was 17, and that he paid to sleep with her.

Having sex with a prostitute aged under 18 is an offence in Italy. El Mahroug says she did not sleep with the premier but her use of the term "bunga bunga," describing sex parties, captured the imagination of headline writers around the world.

Quote:At the mansion Jill Ann was taken to a bathroom by the girl.

She said: "She started running me a bath and said all the girls had to have one. I got in then another girl appeared from nowhere and jumped in with me.

"Then Hef stepped round the corner and took a photo of us naked in the bath together before disappearing. It was all very strange.

"I got out, then the girl helping me took me to a wardrobe where there was a row of freshly laundered pink pyjamas.

"She said all the girls had to wear them. She said that if I didn't want to take part in anything I was to keep my pants on because that was a code to tell Hef that.

"I was intrigued by now and wanted to see what went on, and I thought I could without having to take part so I put the pyjamas on.

"Then another girl led me into Hef's master bedroom. The only light was coming from two TVs on which porn films were showing. All the other girls were there, dressed like me in pink pyjamas.

"There was loud techno music pounding out. On the bed, with mirrors on the ceiling, was Hef - totally naked and obviously aroused."

Jill Ann said one of the girls then told her to strip.

She said: "We were all given a sex toy and told to pleasure each other while Hef watched. All the girls were behaving like porn stars, making oohing and aahing sounds.

"All this time Hef's main girlfriend Deborah was performing a sex act on him as he lay on his bed watching us. She then sat astride him and they started making love.

"He was groaning really loud but after two minutes Deborah got off and one of the other girls got on top.

"This really shook me up. I thought, 'Oh my God, we're all supposed to have sex with him.' I was horrified, especially as none of them was using protection. I couldn't really believe what was going on.

"After about two minutes Hef tapped the girl on the shoulder and she got off and another got on. The other girls started cheering and shouting, 'You go, Daddy! You're the man, Daddy!'

"Hef would sometimes shout out obscenities, telling us what he was doing. It was all so sordid and horrible."