Photo Gallery Berlusconi's Ruby Problem
It promises to be the trial of the year. Italian Prime Minister stands accused of having paid for sexual encounters with Karima el-Mahrough, known as "Ruby," before she became a legal adult.
The trial began in Milan on Wednesday, but was adjourned just seven minutes after it began. It will resume in late May.
The trial has generated massive public interest both in Italy and abroad. And the public mood has shifted against Berlusconi. Protests against the premier have been ongoing this year -- including this one in Rome on Tuesday.
The charges against Berlusconi has placed Mahroug in the spotlight. In early March, she was invited to attend the Vienna Opera Ball.
Berlusconi has survived several court cases in the past. But the Italian public would seem to have had enough. This sign, held aloft during a Tuesday protest in Rome, reads: "Either he buys the judges or changes the law."
Paola Boccardi is representing Karima el-Mahroug in the trial. Neither Mahroug nor Berlusconi appeared in the courtroom on Wednesday.
Attention is massive. Television crews began parking their vehicles in front of the Milan palace of justice on Tuesday afternoon.
Berlusconi's allies in parliament are doing their best to protect the premier. On Tuesday, they pushed through a parliamentary motion aimed at withdrawing jurisdiction from the Milan court, where proceedings opened on Wednesday.
The trial could involve several prominent witnesses, including the American actor George Clooney, pictured here with girlfriend Elisabetta Canalis.
Karima el-Mahroug appearing on an Italian talkshow in January. She is originally from Morocco -- and described the Berlusconi parties she attended as "bunga bunga" parties.
Ruby pictured here with her boyfriend Luca Risso in Genoa. Berlusconi's defense team insists that the parties merely involved dinner, movies, karaoke and Scrabble.
Marough together with Vienna Opera Ball host Richard Lugner. Ruby has gained a significant degree of fame as a result of the trial against Berlusconi. She was allegedly 17 years old at the time of the parties in question.
Mahrough was a nightclub dancer prior to Rubygate.
