Milan appeals court judge
Enrico Tranfa confirmed Friday that he quit the judiciary after
signing the court's explanation for its decision to acquit
ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi of charges on involvement in child
prostitution and abuse of office.
Tranfa refused to comment on media reports that he
resigned on Thursday in dissent as he was opposed to the other
two judges on the panel's decision to clear Berlusconi, but was
outvoted.
"I handed in my resignation, full stop. Everyone can think
what they want," Tranfa told ANSA.
"It was a well thought-out decision. No one is
indispensable, everyone can be useful".
The court said "paid acts of a sexual nature" took place
between Berlusconi and Ruby, whose real name is Karima El
Marough.
But the explanation said it acquitted the the 78-year-old
billionaire of the underage prostitution charge because there
was no proof Berlusconi knew Ruby was 17 at the time - one year
under the legal limit for sex workers.
It also said Berlusconi "did not threaten" police to get
them to release Ruby, after she was detained following a theft
accusation, by claiming she was the niece of former Egyptian
leader Hosni Mubarak.
This was why he was cleared of the abuse-of-office charge,
for which he was sentenced in the first-instance trial to six
years.
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