A Milan court yesterday acquitted a man with a history of mental problems who had thrown an object and injured Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi last year, judicial sources said. Prosecutors had requested the acquittal of Massimo Tartaglia on the grounds that he was not fit to stand trial. Experts testified in court that Mr Tartaglia had been "incapable of understanding" at the time of the attack.

Mr Tartaglia will be released but will be monitored for a year and must continue to live in the community where he has been since the attack and follow its rules. He is also banned from attending any public protests for a year.

On December 13, 2009, Mr Tartaglia had thrown a souvenir - a replica of Milan's gothic cathedral - into Mr Berlusconi's face after a rally in the northern city of Milan, and left the Prime Minister with a broken nose and two teeth knocked out.

The 73-year-old billionaire spent a month recovering.

Mr Tartaglia's lawyers said they were satisfied with the judgment, stressing that the main priority was that he received treatment.