The European Court of Human
Rights has asked the Italian government to assess whether
keeping Marcello Dell'Utri in jail is a violation of his rights
due to his poor health.
The request was made during the conveying to Rome of
documents related to an appeal filed in Strasbourg on December
20, 2014, by Dell'Utri.
Dell'Utri, a former right-hand man of ex-premier Silvio
Berlusconi, is not entitled to early release because of the
gravity of the mafia-related crimes he was convicted of, Italy's
highest court ruled in October.
External collaboration in mafia association is a crime
excluded from those where early release can be granted, the
court said. Dell'Utri is serving seven years for colluding with
the mafia in Palermo.
The 76-year-old former close aide to three-time ex-premier
and media mogul Berlusconi and co-founder of Berlusconi's Forza
Italia party was convicted in 2014 of acting as an ambassador
between the centre-right group and the Cosa Nostra Mafia in his
native Sicily.
He was extradited from Beirut to serve his sentence.
Dell'Utri is also the former head of the media magnate's
advertising arm and is credited with creating the media mogul's
Forza Italia party in 1993, six months before it swept to
victory in general elections.
In addressing the Strasbourg court, Dell'Utri said he had
been convicted on the basis of a law that came into force after
he committed the crimes he was convicted of.
He added that the charges against him were vague and
imprecise.
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