Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi attacked prosecutors yesterday as he arrived in court for the latest in a series of tax fraud and sex trials that have overshadowed Italy's political life for months.
Berlusconi's legal battles have dominated the political agenda, prompting government accusations that he is being unfairly targeted by left-wing judges.
The opposition said he was focusing on the cases to the exclusion of all else.
Arriving at the Milan courthouse, Berlusconi welcomed the news that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden had been killed by US forces, before launching a fresh attack on magistrates he says are trying to destroy his career.
"There is something which is not going in the right direction for a democracy to have government leaders humiliated by having to spend hours in court while these important international events are taking place," he told reporters.
He dismissed the charges against him as "pure invention".
The preliminary hearing is one of a related set of tax fraud cases linked to the billionaire prime minister's media empire.
Berlusconi and others, including his son, Pier Silvio Berlusconi, are accused of fraud and embezzlement over television rights.
Prosecutors said they were acquired at inflated prices through front companies.
They said Berlusconi and his associates were able to skim off millions of dollars, which they said then went into secret political slush funds.
He and the other accused deny all the charges.
The so-called Mediaset and Mediatrade fraud trials are not related to the "Rubygate" allegations that Berlusconi paid for sex with a nightclub dancer when she was below the legal age limit of 18 for sex with a prostitute.
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