Italy's Lower House on Tuesday
voted to allow the arrest of Forza Italia (FI) MP and former
Veneto governor Giancarlo Galan in relation to a probe into
alleged corruption in the multi-billion-euro MOSE
flood-prevention system in Venice.
Ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's opposition centre-right FI
party had unsuccessfully requested a postponement on grounds
that hospitalisation due to complications arising from a
plastered leg prevented Galan from being present to defend his
position.
The vote on the lifting the parliamentary immunity from
arrest of the two-time minister had been postponed several times
previously.
The House voted to approve the arrest with 395 votes in
favour, 138 against.
Galan, a leading member of Silvio Berlusconi's FI party and
long-time ex-Veneto governor, denies wrongdoing.
He was Veneto governor from 1995 to 2010 before becoming
agriculture minister for Berlusconi in 2010 and culture minister
the year after.
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