Italy ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi acquitted in ‘bunga-bunga’ party case
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was cleared of paying witnesses to fabricate stories about his infamous “bunga-bunga” parties.
The 86-year-old multibillionaire media tycoon was charged with paying young showgirls and other witnesses to provide false testimony on the allegedly pornographic gatherings.
The remaining 28 defendants were all found not guilty, including Moroccan dancer Karima El Mahroug, also known as Ruby, who was involved in a previous Berlusconi case. Berlusconi has had numerous legal battles.
Right-wing senator Ruby successfully appealed his conviction for paying for sex with a minor prostitute in the Ruby case. He denied having had intercourse with Ruby, and she denied ever having worked as a prostitute.
He has asserted innocence throughout his legal proceedings and charged that the prosecution is out for revenge on account of his political views. He argued that the gatherings, which some people had referred to as “orgies,” were actually formal dinners.
In 2013, Berlusconi was sentenced for tax fraud, which was the sole trial that resulted in a conviction. Italian justice was sympathetic with him because of his advanced age; he completed a year of volunteer work at a nursing home close to Milan. Between 1994 and 2011, Berlusconi served as prime minister three times. In the “bunga-bunga” trial, he was accused of paying witnesses millions of euros in hush money, but he insisted that the money was offered as compensation for persons connected to the notorious parties who had their reputations damaged.
He was temporarily barred from political office over his conviction for tax fraud, but won a seat in the Senate in 2022 elections.
His Forza Italia party plays a key role in Italy’s ruling right-wing coalition, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. She hailed his acquittal as “excellent news that puts an end to a long legal case that also had important repercussions on Italian political and institutional life”.
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