The latest news of the Silvio Berlusconi sex trial took a sharp turn Wednesday. Karima el-Mahroug, aka Ruby, the woman allegedly paid by the former Italian prime minister for sex when she was a teenager, made some shocking accusations.
While Ruby admits to certain lies, Berlusconi's alleged escort accused prosecutors of psychological warfare and fingered the media for defamation, citing an April 4 Guardian report.
Standing outside the Milan court before throngs of media, Mahroug vehemently denied being a prostitute and denied ever having sex with the former prime minister.
"I have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to hide, she tearfully read from a six-page statement.
Then, without disclosing names, she described tactics used by people "pretending to help" her as "psychological torture." Additionally, Mahroug directly accused the media of defamation, apparently from her public image as a call-girl linked to Silvio Berlusconi.
The woman, a former nightclub dancer, allegedly had paid sex as an underage teenager with Berlusconi. Reportedly, the sexual contact took place during the former prime minister's infamous "bunga bunga" parties in his villa in Milan.
Up to this point Berlusconi's trial has been a media circus and the woman was been accused of various integrity issues, namely with misrepresenting herself as a relative of ex-Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Mahroug admitted to taking advantage of the passport error of her last name in order to escape the poverty and hardships of her homeland. However, she maintains her statements about not prostituting her body to the embattled former prime minister.
Silvio Berlusconi's trial comes at a pivotal time in which his party is trying to regain control in Parliament after coming in second place in a controversial election.
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