Berlusconi supporters hail Ruby sex case acquittal

'Will smooth the path of reform' says Interior Minister Alfano

(ANSA) - Rome, July 18 - Supporters of former premier Silvio Berlusconi on Friday hailed his acquittal on appeal in the so-called Ruby sex case after a Milan court overturned a seven-year prison term he was handed for paying for sex with an underage prostitute named Ruby and abusing his power to try to cover up the affair.

"The sentence is just, fair, and objective," said Mariastella Gelmini, the deputy whip for Berlusconi's center-right Forza Italia (FI) party in the Lower House. "The judges didn't give in to propaganda and intense pressure on every level". Berlusconi and his supporters have repeatedly said that two decades of legal battles that started after he embarked on a political career are part of a plot by left-wing elements in the judiciary to eliminate him from Italy's public life. "Berlusconi acquitted. Finally. One more reason to ask for justice system reform and civil responsibility for judges," tweeted Daniele Capezzone (FI), who chairs the House finance committee. "I'm happy for Berlusconi because he's a friend...even though I criticized him at the time for making the phone call in person," said Lombardy Governor Roberto Maroni, whose anti-immigrant, separatist Northern League party is an erstwhile government ally of the former premier. Judges in the first-instance trial had found Berlusconi guilty of personally calling a police official and pressuring him to spring Ruby, who was 17 at the time, from jail.

Berlusconi's acquittal "is a boost to institutional and electoral reforms," Interior Minister Angelino Alfano, who is from the New Center Right (NCD) party, said in a note. The NCD was formed when pro-government doves left Berlusconi's ranks. Current efforts by center-left Premier Matteo Renzi to reform Italy's ineffective electoral law are the result of an agreement between his Democratic Party (PD) and Berlusconi's FI.