The media tycoon says he was not able to receive a fair trial in his "hostile" home town of Milan, where he is being tried on two separate sets of charges.
Lawyers for Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday restarted the process of defending the billionaire media tycoon and political power broker against charges of abuse of power, paying to have sex with a minor and tax fraud in Berlusconi’s hometown of Milan, after the Supreme Court denied a request to have the trials moved.
The controversial Berlusconi was born and grew up in Milan and his television, cinema and media empire is based in the city. But Berlusconi’s attorneys said the city had become “hostile” to the 76-year-old magnate, making it difficult for him to receive a fair trial there. They requested the trials be moved to nearby Brescia, but the country's highest court ruled that evidence seeking to show that the location would have a bearing on the outcome of the trials was insufficiently convincing.
Lawyers for Silvio Berlusconi on Tuesday restarted the process of defending the billionaire media tycoon and political power broker against charges of abuse of power, paying to have sex with a minor and tax fraud in Berlusconi’s hometown of Milan, after the Supreme Court denied a request to have the trials moved.
The controversial Berlusconi was born and grew up in Milan and his television, cinema and media empire is based in the city. But Berlusconi’s attorneys said the city had become “hostile” to the 76-year-old magnate, making it difficult for him to receive a fair trial there. They requested the trials be moved to nearby Brescia, but the country's highest court ruled that evidence seeking to show that the location would have a bearing on the outcome of the trials was insufficiently convincing.