Berlusconi case dismissed

An Italian court on Saturday threw out bribery charges against former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi under the country's statute of limitations.

Prosecutors had called for a prison term of five years for the media mogul, but the Milan court ruled that the statute of limitations had run out on the case. The former premier was not present in court as the three judges in the case read out the verdict.

It is "useless to comment," prosecutor Fabio de Pasquale said as he left the courtroom.

One of Berlusconi's lawyers expressed some displeasure over the verdict, saying they would have preferred an acquittal, Italy's Sky TG24 TV reported.

Alleged bribe

Berlusconi had stood accused of paying British lawyer David Mills $600,000 (446,000 euros) to lie to withhold incriminating details during testimony about the former prime minister's business dealings in two separate court cases.

Mills was convicted of related charges in 2009, but the case against him was also thrown out due to the statute of limitations and he was never extradited from Britain.

The 75-year-old Berlusconi, who stepped down as prime minister last November, has denied any wrongdoing. This was just the latest in a series of legal cases against him since he first entered politics in 1994. He has never been convicted, having seen many charges expire due to the statute of limitations.

pfd/sb (APE, Reuters)