Ieri pomeriggio il Tribunale di Sorveglianza di Milano, in camera di consiglio, ha concesso la “riabilitazione” a Silvio Berlusconi cancellando di fatto tutti gli effetti della condanna subita nell’agosto del 2013 per frode fiscale Mediaset. Lo conferma questa mattina il suo difensore, Niccolò Ghedini.

Ciò significa che da ora, essendo immediatamente esecutiva la decisione, il Cavaliere torna ad essere candidabile, in quanto decadono anche gli effetti della legge Severino che prevedevano l’esclusione dalla vita pubblica di Berlusconi almeno fino al 2019 (6 anni dopo la condanna).

La clamorosa decisione, consente insomma a Berlusconi di tornare in campo a pieno diritto, candidandosi fin da subito se, per esempio, fallisse il nascente governo Lega-5Stelle e si andasse alle urne per luglio o settembre. I giudici del tribunale di sorveglianza, cui si erano rivolti gli avvocati Niccolò Ghedini e Franco Coppi l’8 marzo scorso, hanno deciso con un mese di anticipo rispetto al previsto procedendo evidentemente sulla base di un orientamento della Cassazione che prevede, anche in presenza di altre pendenze (in questo caso i processi per corruzione giudiziaria in seguito al processo Ruby da cui Berlusconi è stata o assolto) la possibilità, una volta adempiute “le obbligazioni civili derivanti dal reato”, di vedersi appunto cancellati gli effetti dello stesso con la “riabilitazione” che “estingue le pene accessorie e ogni altro tipo di effetto penale della condanna”.

Soprattutto se, prevede il codice, dopo l’espiazione - che nel caso di Berlusconi si traduceva in un 4 anni di reclusione di cui 3 condonati è uno svolto ai servizi sociali con l’impegno di assistenza agli anziani 4 ore alla settimana - il condannato ha dato “prove effettive e costanti di buona condotta” e di essersi reinserito nella comunità rispettandone nei limiti del possibile le regole.

La Procura generale di Milano dovrà leggere le motivazioni dell’ordinanza con cui è stata concessa a Silvio Berlusconi la riabilitazione prima di decidere se fare opposizione o meno contro la decisione del Tribunale di Sorveglianza. Ci sono 15 giorni di tempo per l’opposizione.</s>MILANO — Silvio Berlusconi può di nuovo candidarsi alle elezioni. Se in questo momento si dovesse andare alle urne, il Cavaliere avrebbe il diritto di presentarsi alla Camera dei deputati o al Senato della Repubblica e tornare così a tutto tondo in campo politico perché ha ottenuto dal Tribunale di sorveglianza di Milano la «riabilitazione», quella che cancella tutti gli effetti della condanna che aveva subito nel processo sui diritti tv Mediaset e l’incandidabilità imposta dalla legge Severino.



L’istanza La decisione di concedere la riabilitazione all’ex presidente del Consiglio, che inizialmente era stata prevista da qualcuno per il prossimo mese, è stata invece presa nel tardo pomeriggio di ieri dal Tribunale di Sorveglianza in camera di consiglio, cioè senza la presenza della difesa e del rappresentante della Procura Generale, dopo che il 12 marzo i legali di Berlusconi, gli avvocati Franco Coppi e Niccolò Ghedini, avevano depositato nella cancelleria al settimo piano del palazzo di giustizia l’istanza con la richiesta firmata dal loro assistito. Erano già passati quattro giorni (ma di mezzo c’era un fine settimana) dalla scadenza dei tre anni che la legge prevede che debbano trascorrere dalla espiazione completa della pena prima che si possa presentare la domanda, termine appunto che cadeva l’ 8 marzo scorso.



La sentenza Berlusconi è stato condannato definitivamente per frode fiscale il primo agosto 2013 dalla Corte di cassazione che ha confermato la sentenza emessa dalla Corte d’appello di Milano nel processo relativo ai diritti tv Mediaset e con essa i quattro anni di reclusione, tre dei quali erano stati però cancellati dal condono. Il resto della pena il Cavaliere l’ha espiata in affidamento in prova ai servizi sociali recandosi per quattro ore, un giorno alla settimana, nell’istituto Sacra Famiglia di Cesano Boscone, hinterland milanese, dove ha svolto fino all’ 8 marzo del 2015 «attività di volontariato» a favore degli anziani ricoverati.





Fine incandidabilità L’ex premier raggiunge così un obiettivo fondamentale che potrà giocarsi in caso di ritorno alle urne perché la riabilitazione cancella gli effetti negativi della legge Severino che stabilisce che un condannato nelle condizioni in cui lui si trovava non è candidabile per i sei anni successivi a una sentenza di condanna superiore ai due anni passata in giudicato. Contro questa norma i legali di Berlusconi hanno anche fatto ricorso alla Corte europea dei diritti dell’uomo sostenendo che la legge Severino ha avuto sulla sua posizione giuridica un effetto retroattivo. L’udienza di fronte ai giudici di Strasburgo si è svolta il 27 novembre dell’anno scorso alla presenza di oltre 500 persone accreditate tra le quali una cinquantina di giornalisti. La decisione è prevista per il prossimo autunno, quando però il Cavaliere potrebbe anche non avere più interesse a conoscere il verdetto visto che ha incassato l’ordinanza favorevole del Tribunale di sorveglianza.



</s>ROME — A court in Italy has ruled that former three-time premier Silvio Berlusconi is eligible to run for office again, nearly five years after a tax fraud conviction forced him to surrender his Senate seat and prevented him from being a candidate in national elections.

Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera reported Saturday that Milan’s Surveillance Tribunal made the decision after reviewing a request from lawyers for the 81-year-old Berlusconi, a media mogul who founded a centre-right political party a quarter-century ago.

The ban on his seeking or holding public office was due to expire in 2019. But Corriere della Sera said the tribunal ruled Friday that Berlusconi already had been “rehabilitated.”

“Silvio Berlusconi can finally return to the playing field,” Mara Carfagna, a leader of the ex-premier’s Forza Italia party. “The ‘rehabilitation’ by the Milan Surveillance Court puts an end to a judicial persecution and a cavalry that didn’t chip away at the strength of great leadership, that, in a profoundly changed political scenario, is today still fundamental and central.”

Milan Prosecutor General Roberto Alfonso said prosecutors have 15 days to decide if they will appeal the tribunal’s decision.

In October 2012, Berlusconi was found guilty of committing tax fraud as part of his vast business dealings. Italy’s highest criminal court upheld his conviction the next year.

Because a 2012 law stipulated that anyone sentenced to more than two years in prison is ineligible to hold or run for public office for six years, Berlusconi had to relinquish his Senate seat.

He had been sentenced to four years, but three were shaved off under an amnesty aimed at reducing crowding in Italy’s prisons. The clock on the ban started running with the appeals court decision in 2013.

Berlusconi then had the option to serve out the remaining time doing public service. He did so, helping residents at a facility for Alzheimer’s patients.

Berlusconi bitterly complained he was treated unfairly, since the 2012 law took effect after the tax fraud. The European Court of Human Rights is expected to rule this year on his appeal of the law’s application to him.

Thus sidelined, Berlusconi was forced to sit out this year’s parliamentary election. The March 4 election resulted in a legislature sharply divided into three factions, one of them a centre-right alliance made up of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia and the anti-migrant League party.

But with Berlusconi ineligible to seek a fourth stint as premier, right-leaning voters made the League the centre-right’s biggest vote getter. For days now, League leader Matteo Salvini has been trying to hash out a deal with a rival populist, Luigi Di Maio, whose 5-Star Movement emerged as Parliament’s largest party.

During the campaign, Berlusconi disparaged the euroskeptic 5-Stars as “more dangerous than communists,” and he has refused to back a government coalition with them.

Forza Italia votes would give a Salvini-Di Maio coalition an edge in the required confidence votes in Parliament for any new government.

President Sergio Mattarella said Monday that if Italy’s bickering political leaders can’t form a government soon, he would appoint a non-political premier to govern until the end of the year at the latest. That would mean a fresh election years before the 2023 due date, and with the Milan ruling, an opportunity for Berlusconi to run again.</s>The Court of Milan on Friday granted Berlusconi "rehabilitation," effectively lifting the ban on him re-entering politics that has been in place since his 2013 conviction for tax fraud. Under the so-called "Severino Law," anyone sentenced to a jail term of more than two years is not allowed to run for public office.

The court's decision may have come too late for Berlusconi this election cycle, though.

On Wednesday, he gave his blessing for the anti-immigrant League party to form a coalition government that does not include his Forza Italia party.

However, the ruling opens the door for the 81-year-old billionaire to run for office next time elections are held.

The chief prosecutor of Milan, Roberto Alfonso, is still considering whether to challenge the court's decision, Italian news agency ANSA reported. "We will read and evaluate," Alfonso told reporters Saturday, adding that the court's written decision had not yet been sent to the Public Prosecutor's Office in Milan. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a billionaire media mogul nicknamed "Il Cavaliere" (The Knight), has emerged as an unlikely kingmaker in Italy's general elections. Berlusconi began his career as a cruise ship singer before making a fortune in real estate and starting a media empire that grew into the Mediaset conglomerate. Berlusconi, right, with journalist Indro Montanelli in 1977. Berlusconi swims at a Tunisian beach in 1984. In 1980, he launched Canale 5, Italy's first national commercial television network. Italia 1 followed in 1982, and then there was Rete 4 in 1984. Berlusconi poses for a photo in 1986. That year, he bought the football club AC Milan. Berlusconi married his second wife, Veronica Lario, in 1990. Berlusconi speaks during a center-right coalition rally in Naples, Italy, in 1993. Berlusconi announced in November 1993 that he would be entering the world of politics. He started the Forza Italia party in 1994. Berlusconi is surrounded by supporters during a rally in Rome in February 1994. Berlusconi was elected prime minister for the first time in May 1994. Berlusconi chats with lawmaker Cesare Previti at the Italian Senate during a vote of confidence for Berlusconi's government on May 17, 1994. Berlusconi meets with Pope John Paul II on May 21, 1994. US President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton meet Berlusconi and his wife, Veronica Lario, during an official visit to Rome in June 1994. Berlusconi waves while attending a European Council meeting in Corfu, Greece, in June 1994. Berlusconi plays with daughters Barbara, left, and Eleonora in Milan. Berlusconi speaks to the press on December 23, 1994, a day after he submitted his resignation to President Oscar Scalfaro. He had lost the support of other political parties. Berlusconi ran for prime minister in 1996, but lost to Romano Prodi. He ran again in 2001 and was elected. Here, he campaigns in Tatanto, Italy, on May 5, 2001. Berlusconi smiles during a rally in Rome on May 11, 2001. Two days later, he won the general election. Berlusconi addresses a court in Milan, Italy, in June 2003. He was defending himself against corruption charges linked to his media company. Berlusconi wipes his jacket during a news conference in Rome in 2006. He lost the election that year to Romano Prodi. Berlusconi leaves a hospital in Milan in December 2009, following treatment for injuries he received during a campaign rally. A man wielding a model of Milan's cathedral attacked Berlusconi during the rally, breaking his nose and some of his teeth. Berlusconi hands the Berlusconi Trophy to AC Milan's Massimo Ambrosini in August 2011. The trophy is awarded annually to the winner of a friendly football match in Milan. Berlusconi waves as he leaves a court in Milan in September 2011. Berlusconi attends the G20 summit in Cannes, France, in November 2011. Berlusconi rubs his eyes after delivering a speech in Rome in October 2013. That month, Berlusconi was preliminarily indicted on allegations he bribed a senator to support his party in 2006. He would be convicted in 2015 and banned from holding public office for five years. Berlusconi smiles as he arrives at his home in Rome in March 2015. Italy's top court had just cleared him of charges that he paid for sex with an underage dancer and then abused his position as prime minister to cover it up. Berlusconi holds his ballot before casting his vote in the referendum on constitutional reform in December 2016. Berlusconi appears on the television talk show "L'aria che tira" in Rome in January 2018. Berlusconi has makeup applied before a television appearance in February 2018. Berlusconi appears on the television program "Tagada" in February 2018. Italy will hold general elections on March 4, and Berlusconi, as leader of the Forza Italia party, has brokered a right-wing alliance with the neo-fascist Brothers of Italy party and the anti-immigrant Northern League. Berlusconi gives a speech during a political rally in Milan in February 2018. has been Prime Minister four times for a total of nine years, longer than anyone since fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. has been Prime Minister four times for a total of nine years, longer than anyone since fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. Berlusconi has been Prime Minister four times for a total of nine years, longer than anyone since fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. He has been tried 22 times on charges ranging from tax evasion and bribery to corruption and association with the Cosa Nostra. Although he was given a four-year prison sentence in that case, he escaped with a year of community service in an old people's home because in Italy, the over-70s don't usually go to jail.</s>A court in Milan has ruled that former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi can run for office again, five years after he was convicted of tax fraud.

The Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera reported on Saturday that a tribunal had decided on Friday in favour of a request from lawyers for the 81-year-old ex-premier.

Berlusconi’s 2013 conviction, stemming from dealings in the media mogul’s business empire, left him ineligible for several years to run for or hold public office and forced him to surrender his Senate seat.

The Italian news agency Ansa quoted Milan Chief Prosecutor Roberto Alfonso as saying that prosecutors will decide whether to appeal against the tribunal’s decision.

Berlusconi had the option of serving out his prison sentence by doing public service, which he did, helping residents at a facility for Alzheimer’s patients.</s>An Italian court has lifted a ban on three-time former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi running for elected office, Italy's media reported Saturday, clearing the way for yet another political comeback.

The Corriere Della Sera reported that a Milan court ordered the immediate "rehabilition" of Berlusconi on Saturday, which "cancels all the effects" of his 2013 tax fraud conviction -- including a ban on holding elected office.

The ban on the 81-year-old media mogul, who is notorious for his "Bunga Bunga" sex parties, had originally been until 2019 and the court's decision taken on Friday was made a month ahead of schedule, the newspaper added.

It means that Berlusconi would be able to again run for prime minister if coalition negotiations fail and new elections are called. But it may be too late as M5S and the League seem to be making headway in their talks.

A right-wing coalition including the League and Berlusconi's Forza Italia party won 37 percent of the vote in March 4 elections, while M5S became Italy's largest single party with nearly 33 percent.

However, coalition talks were stalled for two months as M5S insisted the League, which led the right-wing coalition with 17 percent of the vote, ditch Berlusconi and his party.

On Wednesday, Berlusconi seemed to give the green light for the League to go ahead without him, and its leader Matteo Salvini and M5S's Luigi Di Maio are to meet in Milan on Saturday to continue talks.

They may report on their progress as early as Sunday to President Sergio Mattarella, who could then nominate the new prime minister on Monday.

Dubbed "the immortal", Berlusconi dominated Italian politics for more than two decades, and despite sex scandals, serial gaffes and legal woes, he made an astonishing return from political oblivion for the March vote.

However, coming second to the League in his conservative alliance was a humiliating setback for Berlusconi, who was forced out of parliament in 2013 after being convicted of corporate tax fraud.</s>A Milan court has rehabilitated media magnate and former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, releasing him from his “lifetime ban” on holding public office and paving the way for a possible return to active politics.

In 2013, Mr. Berlusconi was sentenced to seven years in prison and barred for life from holding public office, after being found guilty of paying for sex with an under-age prostitute, tax fraud, and abuse of office. In the end, Berlusconi never saw the inside of a prison cell and after the court’s announcement Saturday will be able to run for office if he so desires.

The timing of the court’s decision was curious, since it followed closely upon announcements of a probable coalition government between the two victorious populist parties from the March general election—the League and the 5-Star Movement—along with Berlusconi’s voluntary withdrawal from deliberations.

One need not be a conspiracy theorist to wonder whether the rehabilitation of the “Cavaliere” is intended to destabilize the process and make such a coalition difficult, if not impossible. For many of the old guard, the 81-year-old Berlusconi is looked upon as a lesser evil than the upstart populists, and one who is less likely to overturn the establishment apple cart.

The 5-Star Movement had urged the League to end its ties to Mr Berlusconi, whom it sees as a symbol of the corrupt political practices it opposes, and on Wednesday, Berlusconi said he would not stand in the way of a coalition between the two parties.

While the platforms of the League and the Five Stars are marked by significant differences, in recent days they have begun to converge around key points regarding immigration, relations with the EU, and a possible flat tax for the country. Italy still languishes under a debilitating economic crisis and a fiscal system in desperate need of repair, if not a complete makeover.

In a press release Thursday, the two parties announced that they had achieved “significant milestones” toward forming a workable government. In a Facebook post, Five Star leader Luigi di Maio expressed optimism regarding the prospects of overcoming differences, saying that the two parties had made “considerable progress” and had found “ample convergence on the issues that are nearest to the hearts of Italians.”

Italian president Sergio Mattarella, who has expressed his reservations regarding the election winners for their diffidence toward the European Union, has given the two parties until Monday to strike an accord, and in case of a failure to do so, the nation will hold new elections, perhaps in July.</s>A Milan court has ordered the immediate "rehabilitation" of former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, lifting his ban on holding elected office a year early.

The verdict struck by Milan's Surveillance Tribunal "cancels all the effects" of Berlusconi's 2013 conviction for tax fraud, Milan daily Corriere della Sera, reported on Saturday. The fraud conviction, which stemmed from his media empire dealings, forced the 81-year-old to surrender his Senate seat and barred him from holding office for six years.

However, the tribunal's ruling means that the three-time former Italian leader could run for prime minister once again, should coalition talks between the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) and the far-right League break down and new election be called.

"Finally five years of injustice has come to end," Berlusconi's Forza Italia party said in a statement. "Berlusconi can once again be a candidate."

Mara Carfagna, the current leader of Forza Italia, said: "The 'rehabilitation' by the Milan Surveillance Court puts an end to a judicial persecution and a cavalry that didn't chip away at the strength of great leadership that, in a profoundly changed political scenario, is today still fundamental and central."

Milan Prosecutor General Roberto Alfonso said prosecutors will have 15 days to decide whether to appeal the tribunal's decision.

Too little, too late?

However, the ban may have been lifted too late for the 81-year-old, as talks on Saturday between the League's Matteo Salvini and M5S' Luigi Di Maio appeared to be finally making headway.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has given the two leaders until Monday to strike a deal. Otherwise, he said he would appoint a non-political premier to govern Italy until the end of the year at the latest.

The right-wing League-Forza Italia coalition won 37 percent of the vote in March's general election, while M5S became the largest single party, taking around 33 percent. Although Berlusconi was sidelined from running, he went on to campaign actively on behalf of the coalition.

Read more: Italy's Five Star Movement feeds on voters' anger

However, coalition talks stalled in the months after vote, chiefly because of M5S' refusal to negotiate with Berlusconi — who they accuse as embodying Italian political corruption. On Wednesday, Berlusconi appeared to give the green light for Salvini to go ahead and form a government without him.

After dominating Italian politics for more than two decades, the Berlusconi has fought to remain politically relevant in recent years.

The billionaire tycoon was forced to step down as Prime Minister in 2011 after becoming engulfed in a sex scandal involving his infamous so-called " " parties, all while Italian bond yields had surged to unsustainable levels at the height of the euro zone debt crisis.

After being convicted in 2013, Berlusconi accepted the option to serve his sentence by doing public service. He went on to help residents at a facility for Alzheimer's patients.

Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.</s>An Italian tribunal has lifted a ban on veteran centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi from holding public office, meaning he could run to be prime minister in the next national election.

However, the decision might have come just too late for the 81-year-old four-times premier, who only three days ago gave his blessing to his political ally the League to form a government without him in the wake of a disappointing election result.

Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud in 2013, triggering his expulsion from the upper house of parliament and a bar on holding any elected position for six years.

However, in a decision made public on Saturday, a court in the northern city of Milan which oversees the application of sentences ruled that the bar could be lifted a year early because of “good conduct”.

“Finally five years of injustice has come to end,” Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party said in a statement.

“Berlusconi can once again be a candidate.”

Berlusconi campaigned actively ahead of a March 4 national election even though he was not a candidate. But Forza Italia did not perform as well as he had expected, slipping behind the League to lose its top spot in the centre-right bloc.

Berlusconi blamed the poor showing on the fact that voters knew he could not be prime minister.

The centre-right emerged as the single largest force at the March vote, while the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement emerged as the biggest individual party.

Neither side won enough seats to govern alone and efforts to put together a coalition were complicated by 5-Star’s refusal to work with Forza Italia, saying Berlusconi symbolised political corruption in Italy.

After more than nine weeks of stalemate, and with fresh elections looking increasingly likely, Berlusconi on Wednesday finally gave his blessing to the League to seek a coalition deal without Forza Italia.

Negotiations between the League and 5-Star are continuing, with President Sergio Mattarella giving them until Monday to strike an accord. Both parties say that if they fail to agree terms, the only solution would be a revote, perhaps in July.

A political source, who declined to be named, said the fact Berlusconi was now free to run might make him less amenable to a League/5-Star government and could work to make life difficult for it in parliament, should it take office.

The billionaire media tycoon was written off after he quit as prime minister in 2011 amid a sex scandal involving his “bunga bunga” parties, while Italian bond yields surged to unsustainable levels at the height of the euro zone debt crisis.

However, he has fought hard to remain politically relevant.

Last year he appealed to the European Court of Human Rights to overturn the ban on holding public office. A verdict is still awaited but the Milan ruling makes it irrelevant.</s>An Italian court has lifted a ban on Silvio Berlusconi holding public office, Corriere della Sera reported on Saturday.

The decision by the court in Milan, issued late on Friday afternoon, shakes up Italy’s political landscape just as the populist 5Star Movement and far-right League are engaged in talks to form a government.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella has given the two parties until Sunday to reach a coalition deal and end the political impasse that followed a March general election.

Berlusconi on Wednesday gave the go-ahead to the League, which ran in an alliance with the former prime minister’s Forza Italia party, to try to form a government with the 5Stars.

Berlusconi had been banned from holding public office because of a conviction for tax fraud, against which he appealed.

The Milan court’s decision would allow Berlusconi to stand as a candidate if Italy ends up holding a fresh general election as a way out of the current political deadlock.
A court in Milan lifts the consequences of Silvio Berlusconi's 2013 tax evasion sentence. He is now allowed to participate in elections again.