Court rules Berlusconi can run for office again in Italy

ROME – A court in Milan has ruled that Silvio Berlusconi can run for office again, five years after a tax fraud conviction.

The Milan daily Corriere della Sera on Saturday reported that the tribunal had decided favorably a day earlier on a request from lawyers for the 81-year-old former premier.

Berlusconi's 2013 conviction, stemming from dealings in the media mogul's business empire, left him ineligible for several years to run for or hold public office and forced him to surrender his Senate seat.

The Italian news agency ANSA quoted Milan Chief Prosecutor Roberto Alfonso as saying prosecutors will decide whether to appeal the tribunal's decision.

Berlusconi had the option of serving out his prison sentence by doing public service, and he did so, helping residents at a facility for Alzheimer's patients.