Saturday, January 22, 2011

Italy's Berlusconi digs in heels despite sex probe

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi accused magistrates of illegally spying on him as he refused to appear before prosecutors who allege that he had sex with an under-age prostitute.

As the opposition urged him to resign over the latest sex scandal, Berlusconi said he had no intention of stepping down, keeping up his offensive against magistrates he says are biased and bent on trying to oust him from power.

"I am not running away and I am not resigning," Berlusconi said in a phone call to a meeting of his People of Freedom party. "I am defending myself and reacting to what is truly an attempt to subvert the will of voters," he said.

Milan prosecutors allege that Berlusconi paid for sex with a "significant" number of prostitutes, including a 17-year-old nightclub dancer, at parties in his villa near Milan.

Having sex with a prostitute under the age of 18 is an offence in Italy. Berlusconi denies any wrongdoing.

Leaked transcripts of phone conversations between more than 20 women who attended the so-called "bunga bunga" sex parties at Berlusconi's residence have been splashed on Italian newspapers for days, piling pressure on the premier.

But Berlusconi said the wiretaps were part of an illegal political, judicial and media campaign to destroy him, defending his right to privacy and calling the accusations "ridiculous."

"Since the beginning of 2010 all the guests that came to my house in Arcore have been subject to continued phone tapping ... Is it normal in a democracy that the prime minister can be subject to this type of controls, to this spying?" he asked, to a chorus of "No" by party members.