British lawyer’s conviction overturned by Italian court

ROME - Italy’s top appeals court Thursday overturned a four-year-and-a-half prison sentence against British lawyer David Mills in a corruption case involving Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The Court of Cassation ruled that the statutes of limitations had expired in relation to the crime for which Mills had been convicted in 2009 - accepting a bribe to lie in court to protect Berlusconi.

“Mills had been found guilty and had received a substantial penalty and thus we cannot but be satisfied (with this ruling),” Mills’ lawyer, Alessio Lanzi, was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency.

The Cassation Court’s ruling which is definitive, is expected to have a significant impact on a separate judicial proceeding against Berlusconi.

The Rome-based court presided over by Judge Torquato Gemelli did not publish the motivation for its decision - this only needs to be rendered public within 90 days.

However, in its ruling, reached after more than four hours of deliberations, the court appeared to accept arguments presented by the state prosecution.

Earlier, Prosecutor Gianfranco Ciani recommended that the court set aside Mills conviction, because, he said, while Mills had indeed received the bribe, the alleged exchange happened in November 11, 1999, so the statute of limitations had expired.

During the two previous levels of judgement in which Mills was convicted of receiving the alleged 600,000 bribe, it was held that the corruption occurred in February, 2000.

In its ruling, the court also decided that Mills must pay 250,000 euros ($338,000) in damages to the government, a request also made by Ciani.

Initially, Berlusconi was a co-defendant in the trial involving Mills, but the premier’s case was frozen in 2008 after parliament - in which the governing conservatives enjoy a comfortable majority - passed a law granting immunity from prosecution to top officials, including the prime minister.

However, in October 2009, Italy’s Constitutional Court lifted the immunity, ruling that government’s law violated Italy’s constitution.

The decision paved the way for a resumption of Berlusconi’s trial.

Following Thursday’s ruling, observers say the charges against Berlusconi are also likely to run foul of the statutes of limitations.

The next hearing in the premier’s trial is scheduled for Saturday.

Both Berlusconi and Mills, a tax lawyer and estranged husband of British Olympics Secretary Tessa Jowell, have denied any wrongdoing.

Italian opposition leaders have repeatedly called on Berlusconi to resign over the Mills case.

But media magnate-turned politician Berlusconi has steadfastly refused, repeating accusations that he is the victim of the communist-inspired judiciary’s political vendetta against him.

“The statutes of limitation does not cancel the crime and this (Thursday’s) ruling remains a moral sentence against the premier,” said Massimo Donadi, a parliamentarian for the opposition centre-left Italy of Values party

“The corruption took place and in another civilised country the premier would have already resigned,” Donadi added.