Silvio Berlusconi has said he feels “obliged” to stay in politics, a day after receiving a jail term for tax fraud.
The former Italian Prime Minister said he wanted to “reform the justice system so that what happened to me doesn’t happen to other citizens”.
Later Silvio Berlusconi confirmed he did not want to stand for prime minister.
He is expected to appeal against the conviction of inflating the price of distribution rights bought by his Mediaset group to avoid paying taxes.
The media mogul has also been barred from holding office for five years.
“There will be consequences,” Silvio Berlusconi said in an interview given on Saturday to TG5, one of the TV channels owned by Mediaset.
“I feel obliged to stay in the field,” he added.
Silvio Berlusconi went on to dismiss the case against him as “science fiction”.
On Wednesday, he said he would not to run again for office – confining himself to “giving advice, experience, speaking and judging without intruding”.
Silvio Berlusconi has said he feels “obliged” to stay in politics, a day after receiving a jail term for tax fraud
Silvio Berlusconi’s lawyers said on Friday that he would appeal against the four-year jail sentence for tax fraud, according to media reports.
The appeal will be lodged by 10 November, reports said, and could take several years.
A furious Silvio Berlusconi went on national television on Friday to condemn the sentence as “intolerable judicial harassment”.
He has long complained that he is being persecuted by left-leaning judges in Milan.
“It is a political, incredible and intolerable judgement,” Silvio Berlusconi said on Italia 1 – another one of the TV stations he owns.
Silvio Berlusconi has faced a number of trials.
He has in the past either been cleared, or cases have run beyond the judicial time limit.
In 1997 Silvio Berlusconi received a suspended sentence for false book-keeping but that conviction was reversed on appeal.
In the latest case, prosecutors said that part of the money declared for the purchase of US film rights was skimmed off to create illegal slush funds, reducing tax liabilities for Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset group.
The court handed Silvio Berlusconi a longer sentence than the three years and eight months requested by prosecutors. However, it later announced that the sentence served would be one year due to a 2006 amnesty law aimed at reducing prison overcrowding.
It ordered him and his co-defendants to pay 10 million euros in damages.
Both the jail term and the ban from holding office will only take effect if the sentence is upheld by a higher court.
Silvio Berlusconi is unlikely ever to serve his sentence as the conviction first has to be confirmed by two successive courts of appeal.
Those appeals could take years, he adds.
In February a court threw out a corruption case against him after the statute of limitations had expired.
He is also currently on trial charged with paying for sex with an underage girl and trying to cover it up. He denies any wrongdoing.
Silvio Berlusconi, 76, was forced to resign as prime minister of a centre-right coalition last November.
[youtube OaP0cGPPEEk]
Silvio Berlusconi’s lawyers are to appeal against his jail sentence for tax fraud, Italian media has reported.
The appeal will be lodged by 10 November, reports said, and could take several years.
Former Prime Minister Silvie Berlusconi and others were convicted of inflating the price of distribution rights bought by his Mediaset group to avoid paying taxes.
On Friday a Milan court sentenced him to four years but later cut it to one.
The media mogul was also barred from holding office for five years.
A furious Silvio Berlusconi later went on national television to condemn the sentence as “intolerable judicial harassment”.
He has long complained that he is being persecuted by left-leaning judges in Milan.
“It is a political, incredible and intolerable judgement,” Silvio Berlusconi said on Italia 1 – one of the TV stations he owns.
“It is without any doubt a political verdict just as all the cases invented against me are political.”
Silvio Berlusconi’s lawyers are to appeal against his jail sentence for tax fraud
Silvio Berlusconi has faced a number of trials but it is the first time he has been sentenced for any crime concerning his business activities.
He has in the past either been cleared, or cases have run beyond the judicial time limit.
In 1997 Silvio Berlusconi received a suspended sentence for false book-keeping but that conviction was reversed on appeal.
In the latest case, prosecutors said that part of the money declared for the purchase of US film rights was skimmed off to create illegal slush funds, reducing tax liabilities for Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset group.
The court handed Silvio Berlusconi a longer sentence than the three years and eight months requested by prosecutors. However, it later announced that the sentence would be cut to one year due to a 2006 amnesty law aimed at reducing prison overcrowding.
It ordered him and his co-defendants to pay 10 million euros in damages.
Both the jail term and the ban from holding office will only take effect if the sentence is upheld by a higher court.
Silvio Berlusconi is unlikely ever to serve his sentence as the conviction first has to be confirmed by two successive courts of appeal.
Those appeals could take years.
In February a court threw out a corruption case against him after the statute of limitations had expired.
Silvio Berlusconi is also currently on trial charged with paying for sex with an underage girl and trying to cover it up. He denies any wrongdoing.
Silvio Berlusconi, 76, was forced to resign as prime minister of a centre-right coalition last November, and recently said he had no plans to stand again in elections due next year.
Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to four years in jail for tax fraud.
Silvio Berlusconi and others were accused of buying US film rights at inflated prices via two offshore companies under his control.
The former prime minister is expected to appeal against the verdict.
Silvio Berlusconi has faced a number of trials connected to his business affairs, but has either been cleared or cases have run beyond the judicial time limit.
In the case for which he was sentenced on Friday, prosecutors alleged that part of the money declared for the purchase of film rights was skimmed off to create illegal slush funds, reducing tax liabilities for Silvio Berlusconi’s Mediaset group.
The court handed Silvio Berlusconi a longer sentence than the three years and eight months requested by prosecutors.
It ordered him and nine other defendants to pay 10 million euros in damages and banned him from holding public office for three years.
Silvio Berlusconi has been sentenced to four years in jail for tax fraud
Both the jail term and the ban would only take effect if the sentence is upheld by a higher court, Italian news agency Ansa reported.
The trial began six years ago and has been subject to repeated delays, in part because of an immunity law that protected Silvio Berlusconi while he was prime minister.
Silvio Berlusconi, 76, has dominated Italian politics for most of the last 20 years.
He was forced to resign as the prime minister of a centre-right coalition last November, and recently said he had no plans to stand again in elections due next year.
Silvio Berlusconi has repeatedly claimed that he is a victim of persecution by a left-wing judiciary.
