Silvio Berlusconi faces two charges – both of which he denies – abuse of office and paying for sex with an allegedly under age prostitute, a Moroccan-born nightclub dancer called Ruby the Heart Stealer.
The abuse of office concerns calls he made to a Milan police station in May 2010 to have Ruby – real name, Karima El Mahroug – released from custody on a theft charge. She was 17 at the time. He was allegedly alerted to the arrest by Michelle Conceicao, a Brazilian showgirl who prosecutors allege was working as a prostitute, who called him on his mobile phone – at the time he was attending an OSCE summit in Paris. . .