Ex-Prime Minister of Italy Silvio Berlusconi was sentenced to one year in jail because his family's newspaper published a transcript of a leaked wiretap related to a banking scandal. Berlusconi will likely appeal, during which time he will not have to be in jail, and a higher court may overturn the ruling. Reuters reports:
An Italian court sentenced ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on Thursday to one year in jail over the publication by his family's newspaper of a transcript of a leaked wiretap connected to a banking scandal in 2006.
Italian justice system rules mean the 76-year-old media billionaire would not have to serve any jail time until the appeals process has been exhausted, and a higher court may still overturn the ruling.
It came in the middle of a political impasse arising from last week's election which left no party able to form a government on its own, although Berlusconi's center-right formation emerged as the second strongest in parliament.
Berlusconi is in the middle of a series of trials, with separate cases over charges of tax fraud and paying for sex with an underage prostitute due to wind up this month.
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