Blow to Berlusconi as Swiss evidence is given green light

Defence lawyers acting on behalf of Silvio Berlusconi have suffered a courtroom blow Keystone Archive

The Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, has suffered a legal setback after a judge in Milan ruled that Swiss evidence was admissible in court.

An Italian tribunal on Saturday ruled that documents sent to Milan by the Swiss authorities could be used in court as evidence in an ongoing investigation into charges of corruption.

Berlusconi, together with the former Italian defence minister, Cesare Previti, stands accused of attempting to bribe judges to give favourable verdicts in cases concerning his commercial business interests.

Prosecutors argue the evidence from Switzerland is crucial to the court proceedings, since they claim that millions of francs in bribes were deposited by the accused in Swiss bank accounts.

Defence lawyers had previously argued that under Italian law, evidence originating from outside the country could not be used in an Italian courtroom.

Under new laws enacted since Berlusconi’s election in May 2001, Rome can now dismiss findings of investigations carried out by other countries, if their procedures do not correspond with those of Italy.

Other cases

Courts in Milan and Turin have recently refused to throw out official documentation sent by the Swiss authorities in other legal cases involving a number of high-profile Italian figures.

The latest announcement that evidence from Switzerland would be considered comes one month after a Swiss delegation visited Rome to discuss the impact of new Italian legislation on legal cooperation between the two countries.

Swiss authorities have expressed concern that a landmark 1998 cross-border judicial agreement between Italy and Switzerland has been compromised by the new legislation.

swissinfo with agencies