Guardian – An Italian court has sentenced Silvio Berlusconi to four years in jail for tax fraud in connection with the purchase of broadcasting rights by his Mediaset television company.
The former Italian prime minister has the right to appeal against the ruling two more times before the sentence becomes definitive and will not be jailed unless the final appeal is upheld. Prosecutors had asked for a jail sentence of three years and eight months. The court also ordered damages provisionally set at €10m to be paid by Berlusconi and his co-defendants to tax authorities.
