Court hears Berlusconi bribery claims

A state prosecutor has told a court that Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi should be jailed for eight years on bribery charges.

Belusconi is accused of bribing judges.

Prosecutor Ilda Boccassini said the Italian leader had made regular payments to judges in Rome to help one of his companies in a takeover battle during the 1980s.

The 68-year-old Prime Minister was not in court as the prosecution summed up its case, which included accusations that Belusconi made illegal payments to judges to block the takeover of a state-owned food company by a competitor.

Several of the co-accused have already received heavy sentences and all have appealed.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200411/s1242694.htm