Italy’s Supreme Court has affirmed a jail sentence against former Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, for tax fraud.
Five judges of the top court rejected Mr. Berlusconi’s final appeal against earlier verdict by lower courts last year which sentenced him to four years in jail.
The sentence has however been commuted to one year under a 2006 amnesty.
The second part of the sentence, which bars the controversial ex-PM from holding a public office, will however be reviewed, the Supreme Court said.
This will allow Mr. Berlusconi to remain a senator and the leader of his centre-right People of Freedom Party (PDL) for the moment.
Mr. Berlusconi, who is facing up to 30 court cases including having paid sex with an under aged prostitute, was convicted over the fraudulent purchase of broadcasting rights by his Mediaset television empire.
He was labelled the “author of a whole system of tax fraud”.
Appeals are pending in other cases in which Mr. Berlusconi was convicted including the sex case and arranging for a police wiretap to be leaked and published in a newspaper.
The 76-year-old accused leftist magistrates of relentlessly trying to remove him from politics since he stormed onto the scene in 1994.
Because of his age, Mr. Berlusconi can do community service or submit to house arrest instead of jail but the sentence is unlikely to take effect until the autumn because of bureaucratic delays, according to Reuters news agency.
There were concerns the verdict may stir political unrest in the country.
Italian president, Giorgio Napolitano, issued a statement after the court ruling, urging the country to stay calm.
“The country needs to rediscover serenity and cohesion on vitally important institutional matters which have for too long seen it divided and unable to enact reforms,” he said.
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