Italy's high court upholds prison sentence for Berlusconi

PanARMENIAN.Net - Italy's high court has upheld a prison sentence for former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in a tax fraud case, CNN reported.

The court Thursday, Aug 1, said it supported a lower court's four-year prison sentence for Berlusconi.

Three years of that sentence are covered in an amnesty aimed at cutting down on prison overcrowding, effectively reducing Berlusconi's sentence to one year.

The high court also ordered a lower court to reconsider whether Berlusconi, 76, should be banned from public office -- a controversial issue that could play a key role in the country's political future.

A lower court convicted Berlusconi of tax evasion last October, sentencing him to four years in prison and barring him from public office for five years. In May, an Italian appeals court in Milan upheld that decision.

The former prime minister can't appeal the high court's decision in the case. But it's unlikely he'll spend time behind bars, because of his age and the shortness of the sentence.

Berlusconi is a member of Italy's Senate and therefore enjoys immunity from any type of arrest. The Senate would have to vote to have his immunity lifted in order to serve any sentence.

Following the ruling, Berlusconi has broadcast an angry video message after his prison sentence for tax fraud was upheld by the country's highest court. He said he was the innocent victim of "an incredible series of accusations and trials that had nothing to do with reality".