Prostitutes ‘were among Berlusconi party guests’

Three women guests invited to former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi’s infamous parties were prostitutes, a police officer told a court yesterday.

Berlusconi, 75, is on trial accused of having sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of office in relation to the parties he threw at his luxury villa that were attended by dozens of television starlets and models.

The media tycoon turned politician was not in court for the hearing, which opened after a three-hour delay as his lawyers argued for more time to go through evidence.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Police officer Marco Ciacci was the first of more than 200 witnesses who will give evidence at the trial in Milan, with Hollywood star George Clooney and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo also due to testify.

Mr Ciacci told the court three of the 33 women who attended the parties – Iris Berardi, Michelle Conceicao and Karima el-Mahroug, known as Ruby the Heartbreaker – were known to be prostitutes.

He said: “There is evidence to show that these three women were actively involved in prostitution.”

The court was shown photographs of Miss el-Mahroug in provocative poses, which were seized from a nightclub in Genoa, where she lives. Berlusconi is said to have paid Miss el-Mahroug for sex when she attended the parties at his villa in Arcore when she was just 17 years old and therefore a minor.

Berlusconi, who resigned as prime minister last month, is also said to have abused his office by using his power to have Miss el-Mahroug freed from jail when she was arrested for theft in May 2010 wrongly telling police she was related to then Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Berlusconi has insisted that “nothing untoward” took place at the parties which were just “convivial dinners with dancing and singing”.

If convicted, he faces up to three years in jail for the sex offence and 12 years for abuse of office.