Silvio Berlusconi prostitution trial

[N 1][2][3] He was also found not guilty on appeal after having been formerly convicted of malfeasance in office (Italian: concussione) by arranging to have El Mahroug released from police detention during an incident in which she was briefly held on claims of theft.

[citation needed] Since she was not carrying any legal or identification documents, the officers took her to the local police headquarters to identify her and for questioning.

In November 2009 she became a dental hygienist, and shortly afterward treated Berlusconi for two broken teeth and facial injuries after he was attacked with a marble statue at a political rally.

[citation needed] In February 2010, she was selected as one of the candidates representing Berlusconi's The People of Freedom party, despite her lack of any political experience, and was seated on the Regional Council of Lombardy the following month.

[8][9] Following repeated telephone calls by Berlusconi to the police authorities, El Mahroug was eventually released and entrusted to Minetti's care.

[1] Berlusconi's lawyers were quick to deny the allegations as "absurd and without foundation" and called the investigation a "serious interference with the private life of the prime minister without precedent in the judicial history of the country".

According to the prosecutors' dossier, Fede "discovered" El Mahroug when acting as a judge at a beauty pageant in Sicily in September 2009, and passed her on to Mora's office in central Milan, which served as a "form of 'clearing centre' for women eager to enter the prime minister's circle in pursuit of money, gifts and help with their show business careers".