Berlusconi ally's graft trial suspended

Italy's highest appeals court suspended the trial of a close friend and ally of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi yesterday in a corruption case that also involves the Italian premier.

The court ordered the trial of Cesare Previti, a former defence minister, be suspended until the Supreme Court decides whether there are grounds to have it transferred out of Milan - a move that would postpone a verdict for years.

"It's a small victory," Giorgio Perroni, Previti's defence lawyer, told Reuters.

Previti, a lawyer who worked for Berlusconi's business empire, is accused of bribing judges during a 1980s corporate takeover battle involving the business tycoon-turned-politician.

Mr Berlusconi is accused of corruption in the same case, but his trial was frozen after parliament passed a controversial immunity law for Italy's top five officials over the summer.

The bribery trial opened three years ago and is nearly at an end for the other defendants, with prosecutors seeking an 11-year jail term for Mr Previti. He has denied the charges.

A guilty verdict for him would tar by association Mr Berlusconi at a time when Italy holds the rotating European Union presidency.

The Supreme Court rejected an earlier appeal in January to have the trial transferred, but Perroni said the latest request was based on new evidence that the magistrates had behaved in an "improper" way that showed they were biased against his client.

Mr Berlusconi and Previti say they are the victims of a politically motivated judicial witch-hunt.

Previti was convicted in a separate corruption case in April and sentenced to 11 years in jail. He is free pending an appeal.

His request to have his trial moved is based on a controversial law passed last year by Mr Berlusconi's allies which lets trials be moved if there is suspicion of judicial bias.