I submit that three elements are on trial in Italy - sex, money and power - as the trial of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi opens today in the Mediterranean nation.
Berlusconi is accused of paying an underage prostitute and then abusing his position to cover up his alleged offence. All three judges presiding over his trial are women!
Prosecutors say Berlusconi paid for sex with a very beautiful teenage Moroccan belly dancer Karima El Mahroug, also know as Ruby (also nicknamed "Ruby Heartstealer"). They will argue in court that the girl was 17, then.
Prosecutors say Berlusconi paid for sex with a very beautiful teenage Moroccan belly dancer Karima El Mahroug, also know as Ruby (also nicknamed "Ruby Heartstealer"). They will argue in court that the girl was 17, then.
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| Ruby |
In a separate case involving the same prostitute, Berlusconi is accused of abusing his power by calling a Milan police station where Ruby was being held, accused of theft, and demanded that she be released. Berlusconi said she the girl was the granddaughter of Hosni Mubarak, the former president of Egypt.
In court, his defence will say she was 18 at the time she had sex with Berlusconi. Fourteen is consent age in Italy. But it is an offence paying for sex with a prostitute under 18.
But really, this trial appears about power, first. Italian MPs have voted to challenge the legitimacy of the trial. Two, sex, third, money!
See our previous post on this here.
In court, his defence will say she was 18 at the time she had sex with Berlusconi. Fourteen is consent age in Italy. But it is an offence paying for sex with a prostitute under 18.
But really, this trial appears about power, first. Italian MPs have voted to challenge the legitimacy of the trial. Two, sex, third, money!
See our previous post on this here.
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