PROSECUTORS in the upcoming sex trial of the Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi released yesterday a list of 132 witnesses they intend to call, including "Ruby the Heart Stealer," the teenage dancer at the center of the scandal.
Ruby, a Moroccan whose real name is Karima el Mahroug, is on the list of prosecution witness alongside 32 alleged adult prostitutes who attended purported "bunga bunga" sex parties, ANSA news agency reported.
The women were also expected to be named as defense witnesses.
The 74-year-old premier is accused of paying for sex with an underage prostitute and abusing his power by trying to cover it up.
The trial, which opens April 6, centers on the prosecutors' contention that Berlusconi had sex with Ruby 13 times.
Berlusconi and Ruby, who is now 18 but was 17 at the time of the allegations, have both denied having sex. She said that the thousands of euros she received from Berlusconi were gifts.
