Berlusconi attacker asks for fast-track trial
Massimo Tartaglia broke premier's nose in December
11 March, 17:40
(ANSA) - Milan, March 11 - The man who hit Premier Silvio
Berlusconi in the face with a spiked statuette in December
on Thursday asked for a fast-track trial on assault charges.Massimo Tartaglia, 42, was initially scheduled to go on trial in a Milan court on May 7.
But if his request is accepted he will go before a single judge before then, legal sources said.
A date is expected to be set later this month. Under Italian law, fast-track proceedings permit judges to reduce sentences by up to a third.
Berlusconi suffered a broken nose and two chipped teeth when Tartaglia hurled a souvenir replica of the Milan Cathedral at him after an outdoor political rally in Milan on December 13.
Tartaglia, an electronics engineer with a history of psychological problems, is being held in a mental health facility near Milan.
Tartaglia's legal team are expected to argue that he was not of sound mind when he attacked the premier.
The defence team has already commissioned an assessment judging their client to be mentally unfit.
But the judge is likely to order a second report, legal sources said Thursday.
The assault left Berlusconi with reported chewing difficulties that would support charges of aggravated assault, the premier's lawyer say. The charges carries a three-seven-year jail sentence but could be as short as one year if the fast-track request is met.
Berlusconi says he has ''forgiven Tartaglia'' but legal sources say that his crime cannot be compared to a prior attack six years ago by a man in Rome who threw a tripod at him, which the premier was also quick to pardon.
They say that Tartaglia, by contrast, will have to answer for his actions which caused considerable harm to a state official, unlike the tripod attack.
