Silvio Berlusconi WILL face trial for having sex with 17-year-old Moroccan belly dancer



Silvio Berlusconi was yesterday sent for trial on charges of sex with an underage prostitute and abuse of power.

An all-female panel of judges ruled that the Italian Prime Minister should be tried based on 782 pages of wire taps, intercepted text messages and bank details.

If convicted, he could face 15 years in prison. Mr Berlusconi, 74, denies the charges and claims he is the victim of a political witch hunt.

In the dock: Silvio Berlusconi salutes during his visit to Mineo in Sicily to view a property that could host Tunisian immigrants

He has been at the centre of torrid allegations since it emerged he had paid teenage Moroccan belly dancer Karima El Mahroug.

Prosecutors said he also used his influence to secure her release when she was arrested.

The ruling in Milan comes days after more than a million people took to the streets in 200 towns and cities in Italy to protest at the scandal.



Miss El Mahroug was just 17 when she attended Mr Berlusconi’s infamous ‘bunga bunga’ parties, the name referring to a crude after-dinner sex game.

Prosecutors said she was paid in cash, clothes and jewellery.



Dancer Karima El Mahroug, pictured in a Milan nightclub in November, denies having sex with the Italian PM

Get him out: A rally of mainly women disgusted with Berlusconi calls for him to go in the Piazza del Popolo in Rome on Sunday They have stressed that ‘fondling her and not having intercourse’ would still be a crime as she was under 18, the age of consent to act as a prostitute. It later emerged that last May Mr Berlusconi called a Milan police station where Miss Mahroug was being held after being accused of theft. He is said to have told officers she was the granddaughter of Hosni Mubarak, then Egyptian president, and should be ‘freed immediately to avoid an embarrassing diplomatic incident’. Investigation: Karima El Mahroug is expected to testify at the trial while Berlusconi's former dentist turned regional councillor Nicole Minetti (right) is under investigation for allegedly procuring girls for the PM

Mr Berlusconi has always insisted that the judiciary is full of left-wingers out to topple him.



His lawyers are expected to appeal against the decision to send him for trial.



They have filed dozens of statements from female guests who insisted the parties were not of a sexual nature but pleasant evenings of dinner and talking.

Showbusiness agent Lele Mora, TV newscaster Emilio Fede and former showgirl Nicole Minetti are also under investigation.

They are said to have procured girls for Mr Berlusconi and taken them to his house.

Prosecutors said ‘numerous women were involved’ but Miss El Mahroug was the only one who was underage. She is expected to testify at the trial.

Mr Berlusconi has been cleared of numerous allegations during his 17-year political career.

Next month, three other trials, which include claims of corruption and financial irregularities within two of his firms, start.