Italian court: Berlusconi trial to continue

MILAN -- A Milan court Monday rejected a bid by former Premier Silvio Berlusconi to halt his sex-for-hire trial for Italy's general election campaign, a ruling that makes a verdict likely before the February vote.

Berlusconi's lawyer accused the court of "interfering heavily" in the Italian political campaign by refusing to suspend the trial so Berlusconi can dedicate himself to campaigning for his center-right coalition.

"A verdict will most certainly come before the election. It seems to me this is the clear intent of the court," defense lawyer Niccolo Ghedini told reporters. "It doesn't bother us, but it should bother citizens since it is obvious that it will impact the electoral campaign."

Berlusconi denounced the trial as "a comedy, a farce, a defamatory hoax," in an interview with Sky TG24.

Prosecutors accused Ghedini of merely seeking to delay a verdict in the nearly 2-year-old trial, which started when Berlusconi was still in office. He resigned some seven months later, making room for Mario Monti's technical government, as the sovereign debt crisis threatened to engulf Italy.

Despite his legal woes and sex scandal, Berlusconi's center-right coalition has been gaining in the polls since he actively began campaigning. Berlusconi, 76, also has been boosted by combative televised debates with journalistic critics.

Berlusconi is accused of having paid for sex with a Moroccan woman, Karima el-Mahroug, when she was 17, during racy "bunga bunga" parties with attractive young women at his villa near Milan, and then using his influence to cover it up.

Both he and el-Mahroug have denied sexual relations.

Berlusconi has apologized for hosting the parties, saying he was lonely after splitting from his second wife. Veronica Laria left him in 2009, citing alleged dalliances with young women.