Scandal-plagued former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is in intensive care after a series of previous hospitalisations.
The 86-year-old billionaire media tycoon and four-time populist premier has suffered repeated bouts of ill-health in recent years and came out of hospital last week, but has now been readmitted according to a political source who spoke to Reuters on Wednesday. (05.04.23)
He is said to be in Milan’s San Raffaele hospital, where he spent some days last week.
The former leader came out of hospital last week after what was described as a “routine check-up".
His health was raised as an issue in 2021 when he was on trial on charges of bribing witnesses, with a Milan prosecutor saying during the case it should be put on hold due to Berlusconi’s illnesses.
He was in and out of hospital in 2021 after he contracted Covid in September 2020.
Prosecutor Tiziana Siciliano told his trial in May 2021: “We definitely believe Berlusconi is seriously ill and is suffering from a serious disease. This is what medical certificates and consultancies show.”
Speaking during a hearing for a case connected to one in which Berlusconi was acquitted of having sex with an underage girl, the prosecutor added Berlusconi should be temporally exempted from standing trial.
Berlusconi was accused of bribing witnesses to stay silent over an underage prostitution case that started in 2013, and he has always denied any wrongdoing.
He was hospitalised in March and twice in April 2021 and went into hospital in January the same year with a heart problem.
Berlusconi was forced to resign as prime minister in 2011 and in 2013 he was found guilty of paying a guest at one of his parties, an under-age dancer known as ‘Ruby the Heart Stealer’, for sex.
He was acquitted on appeal on the basis that he did not know she was 17.
Berlusconi then faced accusations he paid his other guests millions of euros to lie about the parties in court.
He has claimed that he was compensating them because their careers were damaged by the publicity from the case.
