Ex-Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi jail term confirmed
8/1/2013 9:43:04 PM
Italy's supreme court has upheld the prison sentence given to ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for tax fraud.
However, the court ordered a review of a five-year ban on public office that was part of the sentence.
Berlusconi faces house arrest or community service instead of going to jail because of his age - he is 76.
His lawyers had asked judges at Rome's Court of Cassation to overturn a one-year jail sentence and political ban.
When Berlusconi was convicted in October last year, he was sentenced to four years in prison but this was automatically reduced to one under a 2006 pardon law.
The supreme court's ruling came after a three-day hearing.
The judicial review of the five-year ban from public office will enable Berlusconi to remain as a senator and as leader of his centre-right People of Freedom Party (PDL) for the moment.
However, the court ordered a review of a five-year ban on public office that was part of the sentence.
Berlusconi faces house arrest or community service instead of going to jail because of his age - he is 76.
His lawyers had asked judges at Rome's Court of Cassation to overturn a one-year jail sentence and political ban.
When Berlusconi was convicted in October last year, he was sentenced to four years in prison but this was automatically reduced to one under a 2006 pardon law.
The supreme court's ruling came after a three-day hearing.
The judicial review of the five-year ban from public office will enable Berlusconi to remain as a senator and as leader of his centre-right People of Freedom Party (PDL) for the moment.