FORMER ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER TO BE BARRED FROM HOLDING PUBLIC OFFICE

A Milan court on Saturday ruled that former Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi should be barred from holding public office for two years following a conviction for tax fraud. But, since Berlusconi is a senator, the court’s decision will have no immediate effect and his expulsion from the Senate will depend on a separate vote in the upper house of parliament, expected to take place next month. Saturday’s ruling reflected the prosecution’s request for a two-year ban. Berlusconi’s lawyers, who can appeal to the Supreme Court, had asked for a one-year ban, the minimum under the law that was being applied in the Milan case. The maximum would have been three years. Losing his seat in the Senate would deprive Berlusconi, who is fighting a conviction for paying for sex with a minor among other legal cases, of his parliamentary immunity from arrest. A special Senate committee opened the way earlier this month for a motion to expel Berlusconi. The 76-year-old billionaire has protested his innocence, accusing magistrates of persecuting him since his entry into politics 20 years ago.