Witnesses support Berlusconi in sex case
January 26, 2011, Wednesday
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LAWYERS for Silvio Berlusconi have presented evidence to magistrates from dozens of witnesses denying accounts of wild sex parties at a luxurious villa belonging to the embattled Italian prime minister.
Newspapers quoted from defense documents dismissing the lurid reports which have filled the media over the past week and saying the evenings at Arcore, near Milan, were quiet and convivial gatherings.
"These were merely dinners between friends with no alcohol or sex," according to an extract from the documents quoted by the daily Corriere della Sera yesterday. "These evenings at Arcore were just normal ones."
It said the documents were based on statements from 30 witnesses including waiting staff, musicians and guests and would probably be filed in parliament, where prosecutors handed in a 389-page deposition last week.
Berlusconi, one of Italy's richest men, has been under growing pressure over accusations that he paid young girls for sex and that he pushed police to release one of them when she was detained for questioning over unrelated theft allegations.
His government was already in difficulty after a split in the ruling PDL party last year cost him a secure parliamentary majority. The latest scandal has created a media storm and drawn condemnation from both the Catholic church and business leaders.
The 74-year-old premier has denied the accusations. He says he is the victim of a smear campaign by politically motivated leftist magistrates, and has refused to attend an appointment to answer questions.
Karima El Mahroug, the teenaged nightclub dancer known as "Ruby" who is at the center of the allegations, has denied having sex with Berlusconi. She said he had given her 7,000 euros (US$9,530) to help her because she was in difficult circumstances.
Newspapers have printed pages of leaked wiretaps from the investigation, replete with references to bundles of cash and talk of sex games.
Newspapers quoted from defense documents dismissing the lurid reports which have filled the media over the past week and saying the evenings at Arcore, near Milan, were quiet and convivial gatherings.
"These were merely dinners between friends with no alcohol or sex," according to an extract from the documents quoted by the daily Corriere della Sera yesterday. "These evenings at Arcore were just normal ones."
It said the documents were based on statements from 30 witnesses including waiting staff, musicians and guests and would probably be filed in parliament, where prosecutors handed in a 389-page deposition last week.
Berlusconi, one of Italy's richest men, has been under growing pressure over accusations that he paid young girls for sex and that he pushed police to release one of them when she was detained for questioning over unrelated theft allegations.
His government was already in difficulty after a split in the ruling PDL party last year cost him a secure parliamentary majority. The latest scandal has created a media storm and drawn condemnation from both the Catholic church and business leaders.
The 74-year-old premier has denied the accusations. He says he is the victim of a smear campaign by politically motivated leftist magistrates, and has refused to attend an appointment to answer questions.
Karima El Mahroug, the teenaged nightclub dancer known as "Ruby" who is at the center of the allegations, has denied having sex with Berlusconi. She said he had given her 7,000 euros (US$9,530) to help her because she was in difficult circumstances.
Newspapers have printed pages of leaked wiretaps from the investigation, replete with references to bundles of cash and talk of sex games.
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