Berlusconi Attacker Goes to Trial

In December of 2009, the Italian Premier, Silvio Berlusconi, was attacked by a man who hurled a statuette of the Milan Duomo, striking the 73-year-old Premier in the face and leaving him with a broken nose and bloodied mouth. The attack came at a time when Berlusconi was embroiled in a sex scandal, divorce with his wife, and many protests demanding his resignation.

Berlusconi at the time was held at a hospital over night and the man accused of attacking Berlusconi was immediately taken into custody. However, it seems that 42-year-old attacker, Massimo Tartaglia, has asked to go before a single judge to expedite his trial before his scheduled May 7, 2010 hearing. Under Italian law this type of fast track proceeding will allow the judge to reduce the sentencing by up to a third.

Tartaglia's lawyers will likely argue that he was not of sound mind when he attacked Berlusconi. He is currently being held at a mental health facility and is facing a jail sentence of up to seven years if convicted.

While I was in Italy, the attack on Silvio Berlusconi was such a huge story, especially since he is in charge of all the nations media. Many people speculated that the whole attack was planned in order to gain public sympathy in the wake of his newest scandals.