Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
International
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
EXCLUSIVE: Berlusconi sues local, foreign media for libel
Fri Aug 28, 2009 11:38am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Stephen Brown
ROME (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is launching legal actions against media in Italy and abroad, including Britain, France and Spain, for libel in their coverage of his private life, his lawyer said on Friday.
His lawyer Niccolo Ghedini told Reuters that he and his colleagues abroad had already filed lawsuits against newspapers in Italy, France and Spain and had instructed lawyers in Britain to study possible cases of libel there.
"We have instructed our colleagues to evaluate, according to the laws in their countries, the most serious cases of real, true defamation," Ghedini said in a telephone interview.
He said lawyers acting for Berlusconi had sued the French weekly Nouvel Observateur for a story headlined "Sex, Power and Lies" and Spain's El Pais for publishing photos of guests at the billionaire premier's Sardinian villa cavorting naked.
In Italy they have sued La Repubblica, a tireless critic of the conservative leader, for repeating the Nouvel Observateur story and for defaming Berlusconi by repeating daily its "10 Questions" about his private life and political aspirations.
Ghedini declined to list which other publications could face lawsuits, especially in Britain where papers have taken a special interest in the scandals over Berlusconi's relationship with a teenage girl, prostitutes and divorce from his second wife.
Berlusconi, owner of Italy's largest private broadcaster Mediaset, has accused his television competitor Rupert Murdoch of mounting a personal attack on him via the London newspaper The Times, owned by Murdoch's News Corp.
Ghedini said British papers "have indeed been aggressive, but I have not looked at this article by article, I have left that to my colleagues. I have enough to do here in Italy."
"INTOLERABLE"
The lawyer said the 72-year-old Italian leader, who has been elected prime minister three times and still enjoys high ratings in polls despite a deep recession and all the scandals, "expects to come in for harsh criticism like any other politician."
But he said La Repubblica had an "intolerable" campaign against the premier "which brings Italy into discredit, because all foreign papers repeat these offenses as if they were true."
"If you say to someone 'You are sick and have a sexual addiction' and ask how they intend to get cured, you are taking it for granted that this person is ill," said the lawyer, giving an example of one of the allegations made against Berlusconi.
His estranged wife, Veronica Lario, said earlier this year that she wanted a divorce because of, among other things, his relationships with young women.
Berlusconi denies anything "spicy" in his relationship with Naples teenager Noemi Letizia which angered his wife and says he did not know that an escort who slept at his Rome apartment, and secretly recorded conversations with him, was a prostitute.
These episodes have earned him reprimands from the powerful Roman Catholic church and hopes of a rapprochement were dashed when his presence at a ceremony for repentance was called off on Friday, as was a dinner with Pope Benedict's deputy. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Berlusconi-Church relations sour over newspaper report
also on reuters
Factbox: The best wages and cheapest cities to buy an iPod
Video
Video: British teen becomes youngest to sail world solo
Tough choices: Job losses or work amid terrible pollution?
More International News
Complaints of Afghan election fraud pour in
Japan opposition set for win, faces economic woes
| Video
Two Koreas reach deal on family reunions, fishermen
| Video
Iran president wants opposition leaders punished
Saudi royal survives attack claimed by Qaeda
More International News...
Related News
Berlusconi-Church relations sour over newspaper report
11:38am EDT
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Kidnapped California girl found 18 years later | Video
British teen becomes youngest to sail world solo | Video
U.S. moves toward formal cut off of aid to Honduras
Republicans, Democrats honor Kennedy at memorial service | Video
Want the world's best wages? Move to Switzerland
EXCLUSIVE: AIG CEO defends holiday, slams "lynch mob" attacks
Fed urges secrecy on banks in bailout programs
Kidnapped California girl found 18 years later
Japanese, Koreans gain most from cash for clunkers
China urges U.S. to halt surveillance near its shores
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Kidnapped girl found after 18 yrs
Teenage sailing ambitions
Kennedy casket leaves compound
Defining success in Iraq
Easing drug laws in Latin America
Public pays respects to Kennedy
Japan's military might on display
Merkel urges Israel settlement stop
Business Update: Diageo profit loss
UNASUR to grill Colombia on US plan
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Editor's Choice
Bernanke's identity stolen?
Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke was among hundreds of victims of an identity fraud ring that stole more than $2.1 million from consumers and financial institutions across the United States, Newsweek magazine reported on its website.
Fighting back after Madoff
The fund of hedge funds industry is being forced to reinvent itself after the Madoff scandal and hefty client outflows, and will emerge from the crisis smaller but in better shape than many had expected. Full Article
Video
Kidnapped girl found after 18 years
A California girl who was kidnapped at the age of 11 in 1991 has been found alive, having spent 18 years living in sheds and tents behind the home of her accused abductor, a convicted rapist who fathered two children with her. Video
Dutch girl blocked from global solo sail
A 13-year-old Dutch girl's attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the globe was blocked by a court which placed her under state supervision for two months. Full Article
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Labs |
Journalism Handbook |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.