Berlusconi, who has been embroiled in several sex scandals, was now accused of abusing his office by telephoning a Milan police station and putting officers under pressure to release Karima El Mahroug, known by her stage name as Ruby the Heart Stealer, from arrest on a charge of theft.
The claims by prosecutors came at the resumption of the trial in which he is accused of paying the young woman for sex, the Daily Mail reported.
According to the report, the 74-year-old prime minister allegedly sent two associates to collect the 17-year-old El Mahroug from the police station. The associates were Nicole Minetti, an Anglo-Italian showgirl who his party elevated into politics, and Michelle Conceicao, a Brazilian starlet who was known to the prime minister.
“It was a military attack, an encirclement, and it was all directed towards the police station,” the lead prosecutor in the case Ilda Boccassini was quoted as saying.
Published 15 June 2011, 18:05 IST