Dead ex-model and key witness threatened

(ANSA) - Milan, March 26 - Imane Fadil, a 34-year-old former model and one of the key witnesses in the 'Ruby' case against former prime minister and media magnate Silvio Berlusconi, had been threatened prior to her March 1 death, her lawyer stated in legal deeds.
    During the legal proceedings into Berlusconi's sex parties, she was subjected to "threats, attempts to bribe her, and pressure for her to revoke" her status as plaintiff, especially by pro-Berlusconi witnesses and fellow party attendees Iris Berardi and showgirl Barbara Guerra, the lawyer Paolo Sevesi said. Berardi and Guerra were charged as part of the so-called Ruby Ter (Ruby Three) probe into allegations Berlusconi bribed witnesses to perjure themselves during two trials.
    In 2015, Ivo Radaelli, a businessman who the media magnate used to provide the girls with free apartments, was quoted as telling investigators that Berlusconi had been "terrified at the consequences of possible declarations" by the girls, especially by Berardi and Guerra, "who several times told me they intended" to talk, he said.
    Radaelli said he learned that Berardi "began to see Berlusconi when she was still a minor," and said that he was "constantly involved in the continuous pressure from the girls", who he claimed demanded money and homes in their names in exchange for keeping quiet. Fadil filed as plaintiff on February 25 through her lawyer on February 25, when the model had already been hospitalized for almost a month at the Humanitas research hospital.
    Berlusconi and Roberta Bonasia have been charged in the 'Ruby Ter' case. A hearing will be held on April 15, with corruption in legal deeds and perjury the main charges. The lawyer wrote in the deed that the Moroccan model had suffered "moral damages" as well due to having suffered these threats and pressure during the 'Ruby Bis' case - against Emilio Fede, Lele Mora and Nicole Minetti - by Berardi and Guerra, as Fadil had documented.
    On March 21, it was announced that no evidence of radioactivity had been found in Fadil's organs, who died after complaining she was poisoned. Prosecutors say Berlusconi paid women to lie about the nature of his sex parties.
    Berlusconi was initially convicted of paying for sex with the underage 'exotic dancer' known as Ruby the Heartstealer but was later acquitted after judges ruled he could not have known she was a minor.
    Berlusconi has since been indicted in a number of witness tampering cases.