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| Italy's Senate expels ex-PM Silvio Berlusconi | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Italian Senate has voted to expel ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from parliament with immediate effect over his conviction for tax fraud. | The Italian Senate has voted to expel ex-Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from parliament with immediate effect over his conviction for tax fraud. |
| Berlusconi, who has dominated politics for 20 years, could now face arrest over other criminal cases as he has lost his immunity from prosecution. | Berlusconi, who has dominated politics for 20 years, could now face arrest over other criminal cases as he has lost his immunity from prosecution. |
| He told supporters in Rome it was a "day of mourning" for democracy. | He told supporters in Rome it was a "day of mourning" for democracy. |
| Ahead of the vote, he vowed to remain in politics to lead his Forza Italia in a "fight for the good of Italy". | Ahead of the vote, he vowed to remain in politics to lead his Forza Italia in a "fight for the good of Italy". |
| Berlusconi told supporters gathered outside his Rome residence that "no political leader has suffered a persecution such as I have lived through". | |
| He said: "It is a bitter day, a day of mourning." | |
| Berlusconi, 77, said his struggle would continue outside parliament. | |
| He said: "We must stay on the field, we must not despair if the leader of the centre-right is not a senator any more. There are leaders of other parties who are not parliamentarians." | |
| Ineligible | |
| The debate in the Senate had been heated, with two rival senators nearly coming to blows. | |
| Manuela Ripetti of Berlusconi's Forza Italia party shouted: "Your only aim is to eliminate Silvio Berlusconi!" | |
| No formal vote was held, but senators rejected a series of challenges from Berlusconi's supporters. | |
| The Senate speaker then declared the three-time prime minister ineligible for a seat. | |
| "The conclusions of the committee on elections have been approved, abolishing the election of senator Silvio Berlusconi," Speaker Pietro Grasso said. | |
| After the vote, Beppe Grillo, the leader of the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, tweeted: "Berlusconi has been expelled by the Senate. One is out. Now we must evict all the others from the House." | |
| Berlusconi was convicted of tax fraud in October 2012 over deals his firm Mediaset made to purchase TV rights to US films. The verdict was upheld in August. | |
| He will have to serve a one-year sentence, probably under house arrest or by doing community service because of his age. | |
| He has also been convicted of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and of a breach of confidentiality over a police wiretap. He is appealing against both convictions. |