ROME: Silvio Berlusconi’s lawyer yesterday said he believed the former premier would request — and could be granted — a presidential pardon following his tax fraud conviction, sparking a heated debate in Italy.
“I believe (a pardon) will sooner or later be requested. It remains to be seen, if it is requested and granted, what sort of pardon it would be,” lawyer Piero Longo told Radio Capital, evoking the possibility of a full or partial amnesty.
Longo denied his comments shortly after the Radio Capital interview, but the audio was published by Italy’s main media outlets on their websites.
An amnesty would get the billionaire out of having to perform humiliating community service or spend a year under house arrest.
Franco Coppi, another of Berlusconi’s lawyers, said a pardon request “is one several options on the table”.
“At the moment there are good chances (the request will be made), but we have not yet decided anything,” he said in an interview with Affaritaliani.it.
Berlusconi’s allies have threatened to topple the government if their leader is not shown clemency, and political observers say President Giorgio Napolitano may eventually pardon the billionaire for the sake of ensuring political stability in the recession-hit country.
On Tuesday, Napolitano issued a statement which did not rule out a pardon but laid down strict rules to be followed, insisting that a request would have to be formally presented first.
He insisted that the law was the same for Berlusconi as for any other convicted criminal, stating that “any definitive sentence, and the consequent obligation of applying it, cannot but be taken into account”.
He also warned that rebellion against Prime Minister Enrico Letta’s already shaky centre-left and right coalition could be “fatal” for the debt-laden country where unemployment is at record highs.
Napolitano hand-picked Letta and put the coalition together following a two-month political deadlock following inconclusive elections in February. AFP
