The death by suspected poisoning
of key Ruby bunga bunga witness Imane Fadil hurts Silvio
Berlusconi's defence against charges of witness tampering, his
lawyers said Tuesday.
"Fadil's death, from the technical and trial standpoint harms
Berlusconi's defence because her declarations enter into the
trial directly and we can't cross examine her," said defence
attorney Federico Cecconi.
"When a person dies the utmost expression of grief is not a
rhetorical expression," he added.
"I don't want to express opinions" on the mysterious death,
he said.
Prosecutors said Tuesday that 34-year-old Moroccan model
Fadil either died of a rare illness or of poisoning.
"Both hypotheses have the same validity at this point," they
said.
The date of the decisive autopsy has not yet been set, they
said.
The key figure in the Ruby-Berlusconi witness tampering
trial had a high concentration of cadmium and antimony in her
blood when she died after saying she had been poisoned, Milan
prosecutor Francesco Greco told a press conference Monday.
Fadil fell ill at the end of January and died March 1.
Greco said that tests on biological liquids had shown
above-normal levels of antimony and cadmium, and the prosecutors
were awaiting definitive autopsy results.
The antimony levels were almost three times normal and the
cadmium was almost seven times higher than the normal range,
Greco said.
Partial results from a test have also confirmed the presence
of radioactive elements in her body.
Three time former premier and media mogul Berlusconi, 82, was
convicted but eventually acquitted of having paid for sex with
teen Moroccan runaway exotic dancer and underage prostitute Ruby
the Heartstealer after judges ruled he could not have known she
was a minor when he paid her for sex.
He has since been indicted on suspicion of bribing witnesses
to lie about the nature of his bunga bunga sex parties.
Prosecutors said that Fadil first said she feared she had
been poisoned on February 12.
As a result arsenic tests were run on the woman and these
came out negative on February 22.
Tests for other widely used poisons were also negative,
sources said.
The prosecutors are investigating alleged homicide although
they have not ruled out the hypothesis that Fadil may have been
killed by a rare disease.
They have ordered that no one be allowed access to her body,
including family members.
On Monday they questioned the director of Humanitas, the
Milan clinic where she died, for two hours.
They said it will not be possible to know the cause of death
until after further tests have been done.
Berlusconi said Sunday that he did not know Fadil.
"I am always sorry when a young person dies," the ex-premier
said.
"I never met this person and I never spoke to her".
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