Showbiz
George Clooney, Ronaldo may be called as witnesses in Berlusconi trial
Published Wednesday, Nov 23 2011, 18:03 GMT | By Mayer Nissim | 2 comments
Judges have ruled that George Clooney and Cristiano Ronaldo may be called as witnesses in Silvio Berlusconi's ongoing trial.
The actor and footballer were on the list of 214 witnesses previously provided to the court by the defence and prosecution.
The Italian ex-prime minister has been accused of having sex with an underage prostitute and later pressuring the police to free the 17-year-old from custody.
The woman, Karima El Mahroug, also known as 'Ruby the Heart Stealer', has claimed to have had sex with Ronaldo and seen Clooney at one of the infamous 'bunga bunga' parties, AFP reports.
Clooney and Ronaldo could be summoned by the defence to discredit El Mahroug and both have already denied her claims.
Berlusconi could be jailed for 12 years for abuse of power and three years for the sex charge, should he be found guilty.
Of the probability of the star witnesses being called to the trial, the Milan court official said: "Usually if they're called they have to come. But if they didn't come, we wouldn't send the police after them."
The trial began in April but has stalled over procedural issues. Further hearings are planned for December 2, December 12, January 27 and January 30.
When he was first included on the witness list, Clooney said: "It seems odd since I've only met Berlusconi once and that was in an attempt to get aid into Darfur."
He added to Time: "I wasn't at his bunga bunga party. But I was at another party, I went there to speak about Darfur.
"It was an amazing conversation. He showed me his bedroom and the bed that Putin had given him."
Berlusconi stepped down as prime minister of Italy earlier this month because of the country's ongoing financial crisis. He was replaced by economist Mario Monti.
The actor and footballer were on the list of 214 witnesses previously provided to the court by the defence and prosecution.
© WENN
© WENN
The Italian ex-prime minister has been accused of having sex with an underage prostitute and later pressuring the police to free the 17-year-old from custody.
The woman, Karima El Mahroug, also known as 'Ruby the Heart Stealer', has claimed to have had sex with Ronaldo and seen Clooney at one of the infamous 'bunga bunga' parties, AFP reports.
Clooney and Ronaldo could be summoned by the defence to discredit El Mahroug and both have already denied her claims.
Berlusconi could be jailed for 12 years for abuse of power and three years for the sex charge, should he be found guilty.
Of the probability of the star witnesses being called to the trial, the Milan court official said: "Usually if they're called they have to come. But if they didn't come, we wouldn't send the police after them."
The trial began in April but has stalled over procedural issues. Further hearings are planned for December 2, December 12, January 27 and January 30.
When he was first included on the witness list, Clooney said: "It seems odd since I've only met Berlusconi once and that was in an attempt to get aid into Darfur."
He added to Time: "I wasn't at his bunga bunga party. But I was at another party, I went there to speak about Darfur.
"It was an amazing conversation. He showed me his bedroom and the bed that Putin had given him."
Berlusconi stepped down as prime minister of Italy earlier this month because of the country's ongoing financial crisis. He was replaced by economist Mario Monti.
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