By Reuters
An Italian court on Friday convicted former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and sentenced him to four years in jail for tax fraud in connection with the purchase of broadcasting rights by his Mediaset television company.
Mr. Berlusconi has the right to appeal the ruling two more times before the sentence becomes definitive and will not be jailed unless the final appeal is upheld. Prosecutors had asked for a jail sentence of three years and eight months.
The court also ordered damages provisionally set at $12.96 million, to be paid by Mr. Berlusconi and his co-defendants to the tax authorities.
The ruling comes two days after Mr. Berlusconi, 76, confirmed that he would not run in next year’s elections as the leader of his center-right People of Freedom party.
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