No travel abroad for Berlusconi (at least for now)
An administrative court in the Lazio region today rejected requests by Silvio Berlusconi’s lawyers to get his passport back and be able to travel outside of Italy. The court, the Lazio TAR, said that since the former prime minister’s year-long sentence for tax fraud is still underway, he was not allowed to leave Italian territory.
Berlusconi’s lawyers had claimed that the restrictions should only apply to travel outside of the European Union and that Italy’s laws on reclusion and travel restrictions for people serving a prison term (even if, as in Berlusconi’s case) they are not actually in jail) conflict with EU regulations. The TAR rejected this theory and sources said Berlusconi’s legal team might appeal to the Italian State Council, the country’s highest administrative court.
