An Italian court on Wednesday acquitted Silvio Berlusconi over allegations of paying witnesses to lie in an underage prostitution case that has dogged the former prime minister for more than a decade.
Berlusconi was accused of bribing 24 people, mostly young, female guests at his so-called Bunga Bunga parties, in a previous trial where he was charged with paying for sex with a 17-year-old Moroccan nightclub dancer.
In a written summary of the ruling, the president of the Milan court said Berlusconi and his 28 co-defendants had no case to answer, citing alleged legal errors over the way prosecutors had drawn up the case.
Berlusconi, who sits in the Italian Senate and whose Forza Italia party is a key component of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative coalition, was jubilant.
"Finally acquitted after more than 11 years of suffering, mud-slinging and incalculable political damage," he said on Twitter.
"I had the good fortune to be judged by magistrates who knew how to remain independent, impartial and fair in the face of the unfounded accusations that had been levelled against me," the 86-year-old added.
Prosecutors had demanded a six-year prison term for him.
Meloni also welcomed the decision in favour of an unpredictable ally who courted controversy again on Sunday with his criticism of Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
"The acquittal of Silvio Berlusconi is excellent news that puts an end to a long legal case that also had important repercussions on Italian political and institutional life," she said in a statement.
RUBY ACQUITTED
The Moroccan dancer Karima El Mahroug, better known by her stage name, Ruby the Heartstealer, was one of 22 women accused alongside Berlusconi and expressed relief at the court ruling.
"I am so happy ... It's a liberation from years that were tough to say the least. It overwhelmed me when I was 17 and it carried on until I was 30. It was a nightmare," she told reporters.
The scandal over the evening parties contributed to Berlusconi's downfall as prime minister in 2011, marking the end of his fourth government.
He was eventually acquitted in the initial case, with an appeals court ruling that while he had paid a teenager for sex, there was no proof he knew she was a minor. He was put in the dock again after being accused of bribing key witnesses.
The Milan court said that those who gave evidence in the original case should have been classified as suspects and not as witnesses, meaning the latest charges did not apply.
Prosecutors said they would review the full verdict before deciding whether to appeal.
Berlusconi has acknowledged giving money to a number of his guests, but said it was offered spontaneously as compensation for the reputational damage they had suffered by being associated with his infamous parties.
Berlusconi's political career has been marked by legal battles and he was temporarily banned from political office after a conviction for tax fraud in 2013.
(Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Keith Weir and Jonathan Oatis)
