Berlusconi sex trial woman hits out

The controversial "Rubygate" trial in which former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi stands accused of involvement in underage prostitution and abuse of office took another dramatic turn today when Karima "Ruby" El Mahroug, the 20-year-old Moroccan woman at the centre of the case, made a dramatic appearance on the steps of Milan's Court House this morning.

Surrounded by cameramen and reporters, Ms Mahroug held a chaotic news conference in which she alleged, among other things, that she had lied to Mr Berlusconi, that she had never had sex with him and that the investigating magistrates had been so intimidating to her that, in the end, it was "easier" to "tell totally unlikely stories" rather than the truth.

Ms Mahroug argued that the public prosecution’s attitude had switched from “seemingly friendly” to one of “subliminal intimidation” when it became clear that she would not make accusations against Mr Berlusconi.

Throughout the last two years, following the January 2011 opening of an investigation into Mr Berlusconi’s relationship with “Ruby,” Ms Mahroug has consistently denied having been paid to have sex with 76-year-old Mr Berlusconi. She said: “There came a point when the subliminal intimidation began…Faced with the relentless pressure of the magistrates, I gave in. It was easier to say yes and to tell a whole series of unlikely tales rather than stress myself out or worse, easier than having them accept the truth that I would have liked to tell…”

Ms Mahroug admitted that she had told many lies, adding: “I was ashamed of myself, of the place where I was born, of my family and the small jobs I had to do to earn a crust…I told lies so that I would feel different and to convince people that I really was different. I’m sorry that I also told these lies to Silvio Berlusconi who, I’m sure, even if I had told the truth would still have been respectful towards me and disposed to help me…”

Ms Mahroug was referring to one "lie" in particular, namely that she had presented herself to Mr Berlusconi as the niece of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. In May 2010, Mr Berlusconi had personally intervened with police in Milan to have Ruby released, after her arrest for theft, claiming that to detain her might prompt a diplomatic incident with Egypt.

Ms Mahroug showed reporters an old passport in which she had “added” the name Mubarak in order to create the notion that she was a relative of the Egyptian president. From the TV images, it was hard to evaluate the validity of the document that Ms Mahroug briefly demonstrated.

Saying that she had been “humiliated” by the Milan magistrates who had labelled her a “prostitute” in court, Ms Mahroug said she was protesting because she had been denied the right to testify to the court. Asked by reporters why she had not presented herself in court when summonsed last December, Ms Mahroug refused to answer.

Saying that when she first met Mr Berlusconi in 2009, she hardly even knew who he was, Ms Mahroug accused both the Milan judiciary and the “press” of treating her unfairly in order to hurt Mr Berlusconi.

It remains to be seen what, if any, effect, today’s remarkable attack on the judiciary and the media will have. What is sure is that, willingly or unwillingly, Ms Mahroug has earned herself a whole new set of headlines and sound bytes.