<p>An Italian court Saturday banned former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from holding public office for two years following a conviction for tax fraud, Xinhua reported.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The ruling by the Milan court came after the country's apex court upheld a conviction for tax fraud of Berlusconi's television network in August.<br /><br />Saturday's ruling reflected the prosecution's request for a two-year ban. Berlusconi's lawyers, who can appeal before the Supreme Court, pleaded for a one-year ban -- the minimum under the law that was being applied in the Milan court. The maximum would have been three years. <br /><br />The tax fraud conviction was the first final verdict for Berlusconi in two decades of legal battle. It also included a jail term which was reduced from four years to one year.<br /><br />Berlusconi has filed a request in the Milan court to do one year of social work rather than house arrest to serve the verdict.<br /><br />The Senate is expected to vote next week whether to expel the 77-year-old former prime minister following the verdict. <br /><br />The three-time premier and media tycoon is appealing to the European Court of Human Rights. He is also appealing against other sentences in separate probes on paying a minor for sex and for being involved in the publication of an illegally obtained wiretap.</p>
<p>An Italian court Saturday banned former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from holding public office for two years following a conviction for tax fraud, Xinhua reported.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The ruling by the Milan court came after the country's apex court upheld a conviction for tax fraud of Berlusconi's television network in August.<br /><br />Saturday's ruling reflected the prosecution's request for a two-year ban. Berlusconi's lawyers, who can appeal before the Supreme Court, pleaded for a one-year ban -- the minimum under the law that was being applied in the Milan court. The maximum would have been three years. <br /><br />The tax fraud conviction was the first final verdict for Berlusconi in two decades of legal battle. It also included a jail term which was reduced from four years to one year.<br /><br />Berlusconi has filed a request in the Milan court to do one year of social work rather than house arrest to serve the verdict.<br /><br />The Senate is expected to vote next week whether to expel the 77-year-old former prime minister following the verdict. <br /><br />The three-time premier and media tycoon is appealing to the European Court of Human Rights. He is also appealing against other sentences in separate probes on paying a minor for sex and for being involved in the publication of an illegally obtained wiretap.</p>