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Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi jail term confirmed Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi jail term confirmed
(about 1 hour later)
Italy's supreme court has upheld a prison sentence given to former PM Silvio Berlusconi for tax fraud. Italy's highest court has upheld a prison sentence given to former PM Silvio Berlusconi for tax evasion.
When he was convicted last October, he was sentenced to four years in prison but this was automatically reduced to a year under a 2006 pardon law. The sentence cannot be appealed further under Italian law, though the 76 year old is very unlikely to actually go to jail because of his age.
Berlusconi faces house arrest or community service instead of going to jail because of his age - he is 76. However the court ordered a further judicial review on whether the veteran politician should be banned from holding public office.
However, the court ordered a review of a five-year ban on public office that was part of the original sentence. Berlusconi's lawyers described the ruling as "unjust".
It is the billionaire businessman's first definitive conviction in up to 30 court cases on a variety of charges. They had been hoping to overturn his conviction in a case involving television rights bought by his company Mediaset.
The ruling by Rome's Court of Cassation came after a three-day hearing. The former prime minister was sentenced to four years in prison at the conclusion of the trial in October last year, though this was automatically reduced to a year under a 2006 pardon law.
The judicial review of the five-year ban from public office will enable Berlusconi to remain as a senator and as leader of his centre-right People of Freedom Party (PDL) for now. Berlusconi is likely to serve house arrest or carry out community service instead.
The ruling by Rome's Court of Cassation came after a three-day hearing. Berlusconi was not in court.
It is the billionaire businessman's first definitive conviction after decades of criminal prosecutions.
He said in a video message following the court's decision: "I never devised any system of fiscal fraud. No false invoice exists in the history of Mediaset."
Still in senate
The review of the lower court's five year ban on holding public office means Berlusconi can remain as a senator and as leader of his centre-right People of Freedom Party (PDL) for now.
The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says it is a devastating judgement against the former prime minister, although he will be relieved that judges ordered a review of the political ban.The BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says it is a devastating judgement against the former prime minister, although he will be relieved that judges ordered a review of the political ban.
Berlusconi's party is one half of Italy's coalition government: Prime Minister Enrico Letta needs both the PDL and his own centre-left Democratic Party to govern. Berlusconi's political grouping forms part of Italy's coalition government. Prime Minister Enrico Letta needs both the PDL and his own centre-left Democratic Party to govern.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano issued a statement after the court ruling, urging the country to stay calm. In a statement after the court ruling, Mr Letta urged "a climate of serenity" for the good of the country.
Italian President Giorgio Napolitano also urged the country to stay calm.
"The country needs to rediscover serenity and cohesion on vitally important institutional matters which have for too long seen it divided and unable to enact reforms," he said."The country needs to rediscover serenity and cohesion on vitally important institutional matters which have for too long seen it divided and unable to enact reforms," he said.
The original ruling said that Berlusconi's Mediaset media empire had inflated the price it had paid for film distribution rights to avoid paying taxes. A former minister and ally of Berlusconi, Nitto Palma, told Reuters on leaving a PDL meeting that there was a lot of bitterness about the verdict.
He was labelled the "author of a whole system of tax fraud". However the sentence would not affect the Letta government, he said.
Berlusconi's legal team expressed its "dismay" at the sentence in a statement on his website.
It said there were "solid reasons" why Berlusconi should have been acquitted, and it would "evaluate and pursue any useful initiative, also in Europe, to make sure that this unjust sentence is radically reformed".
Anti-establishment politician Beppe Grillo welcomed the court ruling, comparing the sentence to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In a statement on his blog, Mr Grillo said Berlusconi had "polluted, corrupted and paralysed Italian politics for 21 years".
'Vendetta''Vendetta'
The original ruling in October 2012 found that Berlusconi's Mediaset media empire had inflated the price it had paid for film distribution rights to avoid paying taxes.
He was labelled the "author of a whole system of tax fraud".
The three-time prime minister and senator has faced a string of trials since leaving office in November 2011.The three-time prime minister and senator has faced a string of trials since leaving office in November 2011.
Appeals are pending in other cases in which he was convicted of having paid for sex with an underage prostitute, and arranging for a police wiretap to be leaked and published in a newspaper.Appeals are pending in other cases in which he was convicted of having paid for sex with an underage prostitute, and arranging for a police wiretap to be leaked and published in a newspaper.
Two other alleged tax evasion cases, one of them involving British lawyer David Mills, expired under the statute of limitations.Two other alleged tax evasion cases, one of them involving British lawyer David Mills, expired under the statute of limitations.
Berlusconi accuses magistrates from his home city of Milan of pursuing a "vendetta" against him.Berlusconi accuses magistrates from his home city of Milan of pursuing a "vendetta" against him.