An Italian court on Wednesday acquitted former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in a case where he was charged with paying witnesses to lie about his involvement in underage prostitution.

Prosecutors had demanded that Berlusconi be imprisoned for six years for bribing 24 guests at his parties to give false testimony in a previous trial, where he was charged with paying for sex with a 17-year-old nightclub dancer.

He was acquitted in the underage prostitution case because of a lack of proof that he knew he was paying a minor. The former leader was then charged for bribing witnesses.

A split case

The case of paying off witnesses was split between three cities — Siena, Rome and Milan — because of where the witnesses lived.

Berlusconi has already been acquitted in the cases in Siena and Rome. Prosecutors there are appealing this decision.

The case in Milan is the most high-profile of the three.

Berlusconi has previously acknowledged giving money to his guests but said that it was compensation for the reputational damage they suffered.

There have been a total of 35 criminal court cases against him but only one conviction. The total number of cases refers to separate court cases rather than individual trials at each phase of judicial procedure.

He was convicted in 2014 but this was overturned the following year, a verdict upheld by an appeals court and the Supreme Court. Berlusconi's one trial to conclude in a final conviction was the one for tax fraud, false accounting and embezzlement.

Italy's top court confirmed Berlusconi's sentence, four years' imprisonment, though three were excused by a pardon. Berlusconi was able to cover the remaining time with community service.

Berlusconi's downfall and comeback

The case has long cast a shadow on his political career.

Dubbed as the "bunga bunga parties," the scandal led to his political downfall and the end of his fourth term as prime minister in 2011.

Berlusconi's Forza Italia party — a key player in current Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's coalition — has consistently denied the allegations. According to the party, Berlusconi has been a victim of a yearslong ploy by magistrates to end his time in politics.

Since then, Berlusconi was re-elected to Italy's upper house in 2022 with more than 50% of the votes in September in the northern city of Monza, where he also owns a soccer team.

That marked a significant comeback for him as he was expelled from the Senate in 2013 because of a tax fraud conviction stemming from his media business.

ar, mk/fb (Reuters, AFP)