Silvio Berlusconi avoids court case
Italian Senate delays corruption trial
|
More Articles:
Most Viewed:
Sundance unveils competition lineup(8344 views)Bloody 3D sequels planned(3097 views)Directors in Oscar spotlight(1835 views)Summit's 'Twilight' dilemma(1575 views)Domestic box office up 8% in 2009(1384 views)52nd annual Grammy nominees(1307 views) |
His supporters in the Senate successfully passed an amendment on Wednesday to security laws that will fatally delay the trial in which he is charged with bribing British lawyer David Mills, the estranged husband of British Olympics minister Tessa Jowell, to the tune of £300,000 ($600,000).
The amendment suspends for a year all cases for crimes committed before mid-2002, except those involving violence, the Mafia, workplace accidents or crimes punishable by more than 10 years in jail.
As a result there will not now be time to finish Berlusconi's trial before the 10-year statute of limitations absolves all parties in 2010.
The prime minister claimed the changes were needed to allow Italy's creaking justice system to prioritize more serious criminal cases.
However, the move has been widely seen as the first blatantly self-serving law change in Berlusconi's third term in office and prompted opposition senators to storm out of parliament in disgust.
Even moderately conservative newspapers have dubbed the political maneuver "Operation save Berlusconi."
