Italy's supreme Court of Cassation on
Monday ordered a new appeal-level trial in the so-called Ruby
ter case, one of several stemming from the alleged "bunga bunga"
sex parties late ex-premier and media billionaire Silvio
Berlusconi held at his home in Arcore near Milan.
As a result, around 20 people, including several of the women
who attended the parties, face a new trial on charges of
corruption in judicial acts.
The defendants include Karima El Mahroug, a Moroccan nicknamed
Ruby Heartstealer who Berlusconi allegedly paid for sex before
she was 18 in 2010.
Berlusconi was ultimately acquitted of paying for sex with a
minor in the main Ruby case on the grounds that there was not
proof he was aware El Mahroug was under 18.
The Ruby ter (Ruby third in Latin) case regards allegations
Berlusconi, who died at the age of 86 last year, bribed
witnesses to lie about the parties and say they were innocent
affairs.
All the defendants, including Berlusconi, were acquitted by the
court of first instance on a technicality.
The supreme court on Monday ruled that the statute of
limitations has run out on the charges of perjury against the
Ruby ter defendants.
But a similar charge, of corruption in judicial acts, has been
upheld.
The young women, including El Mahroug, have admitted being paid
and given apartments by Berlusconi but have insisted he did this
out of generosity at first and later to compensate them for the
reputational damage caused by the trials.
The women have been dubbed 'Olgettine' after the Milan street,
Via Olgettina, where their luxury flats are located.
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