The prosecutor who asked a Milan
court to order Silvio Berlusconi to serve a 10-month sentence
for tax fraud doing community service rather than house arrest
has said the measure could be suspended if the ex-premier were
to defame single magistrates, reports said Friday.
The court's prosecutor-general Antonio Lamanna on Thursday
took to court an article published last month by Corriere della
Sera in which Berlusconi was quoted as referring to the Milan
court weighing the issue as a "mafia of judges".
Lamanna reportedly told the court that, under standing
legislation, community service "can be revoked" if the
three-time premier will defame "single judges", as he has done
on a number of occasions.
There are no "vindictive angels" nor "guardian angels" in
the court but magistrates "who must enforce laws", Lamanna said.
The 77-year-old media magnate, who has said the tax fraud
conviction is part of a longstanding campaign by left-wing
magistrates to sweep him out of Italy's political scenario, has
applied to do community service and could work as little as half
a day a week.
The ruling on what kind of punishment the center-right
leader will receive, which is expected within the next two
weeks, will be key in determining what role Berlusconi will play
in the coming year.
If he gets house arrest, it would seriously curb his
ability to lead his revamped center-right opposition Forza
Italia in May 25 European elections, a key test for his party.
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