ROME – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, plagued by legal troubles including accusations he had sex with an underage prostitute, will attend all his court hearings, his lawyer said Saturday. “There is an unusual level of attention on him and so he thinks it right to appear in person,” Niccolo Ghedini told reporters in Milan, specifying that the premier, who has not attended court for years, will be present at all hearings. “We are willing to conduct the trials, and quickly,” Ghedini said, adding that Berlusconi would arrange his schedule so that he can attend four hearings a month, on Mondays, as well as some Saturdays “in extreme cases”.
Though the Italian leader can legitimately avoid appearing in court by saying that his official duties prevent him from attending hearings, Ghedini met with Milan’s public prosecutor’s office on Friday to discuss his availability. All trials against the Italian prime minister were suspended in April last year following the adoption of a law the previous month granting 74-year-old Berlusconi impunity from prosecution for 18 months.
In mid-January the Constitutional Court partially struck down that measure, opening the way for the resumption of the court cases from February 26, when the slew of trials involving the premier kicked off once more. The embattled leader – accused of tax fraud, witness corruption and having sex with an underage prostitute and using his position to cover up his alleged crime – is currently involved in three trials, as well as another case still at the preliminary hearings stage.
