Milan, 29 June (LaPresse) – The trial phase in the Ruby ter case has resumed, involving 22 defendants, including Karima El Mahroug and the so-called ‘Olgettine’. The Milan Court of Appeal (presided over by Maria Rosaria Correra, with judges Paolo Bernazzani and Raffaella Zappatini) has granted the requests for a retrial and admitted around 40 witnesses; it has rejected the constitutional challenge regarding territorial jurisdiction, whilst suspending the proceedings relating to corruption in judicial proceedings, deferring them until the end of the appeal trial. The crux of the matter concerns the legal status of the young women who testified in the trials concerning the dinners at Arcore – specifically, whether or not they were ‘court officials’. The Court of Appeal will have to ascertain whether false testimony was given in those depositions, as a prerequisite for the offence of corruption in judicial proceedings. The trial will therefore remain in Milan and will not be transferred to Siena, as had been requested in the motions filed by the defendants’ defence teams. The trial phase, involving the hearing of witnesses, will be concentrated into three hearings: 30 September, 8 October and 29 October. The lists of witnesses are to be submitted by 10 July. Two further hearings set aside for closing arguments have been scheduled for 3 November and 26 November. This new phase of the trial follows the Court of Cassation’s 2024 quashing of the Milan Court’s acquittal judgement of 15 February 2023, on the grounds that the offence did not exist. The young women – and, at the time, Silvio Berlusconi as well – were acquitted on the basis that they had never held the status of ‘public officials’ or ‘pure witnesses’. The Court of Cassation had upheld the public prosecutor’s ‘per saltum’ appeal and quashed the acquittal, ruling that it is necessary to ascertain the truth or falsity of the testimonies (even if the statute of limitations has now expired) as a predicate offence for corruption.
Ruby ter: trial resumes, around 40 witnesses called
Milan, 29 June (LaPresse) – The trial phase in the Ruby ter case has resumed, involving 22 defendants, including Karima El Mahroug and the so-called ‘Olgettine’. The Milan Court of Appeal (presided over by Maria Rosaria Correra, with judges Paolo Bernazzani and Raffaella Zappatini) has granted the requests for a retrial and admitted around 40 witnesses; it has rejected the constitutional challenge regarding territorial jurisdiction, whilst suspending the proceedings relating to corruption in judicial proceedings, deferring them until the end of the appeal trial. The crux of the matter concerns the legal status of the young women who testified in the trials concerning the dinners at Arcore – specifically, whether or not they were ‘court officials’. The Court of Appeal will have to ascertain whether false testimony was given in those depositions, as a prerequisite for the offence of corruption in judicial proceedings. The trial will therefore remain in Milan and will not be transferred to Siena, as had been requested in the motions filed by the defendants’ defence teams. The trial phase, involving the hearing of witnesses, will be concentrated into three hearings: 30 September, 8 October and 29 October. The lists of witnesses are to be submitted by 10 July. Two further hearings set aside for closing arguments have been scheduled for 3 November and 26 November. This new phase of the trial follows the Court of Cassation’s 2024 quashing of the Milan Court’s acquittal judgement of 15 February 2023, on the grounds that the offence did not exist. The young women – and, at the time, Silvio Berlusconi as well – were acquitted on the basis that they had never held the status of ‘public officials’ or ‘pure witnesses’. The Court of Cassation had upheld the public prosecutor’s ‘per saltum’ appeal and quashed the acquittal, ruling that it is necessary to ascertain the truth or falsity of the testimonies (even if the statute of limitations has now expired) as a predicate offence for corruption.
