Ex-escort Ruby reveals details of Berlusconi’s bunga bunga parties

Following the acquittal of Italy’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the “Bunga-Bunga” party trial, a former escort revealed details of the celebrations.

Karima el Mahroug – better known as “Ruby Rubacuori” (“Ruby Heartbreaker”) – presented her biography (“Karima”) in Milan on Thursday. In it she says that in 2010, when she was 17, on the first night in Berlusconi’s villa she received an envelope with 2,000 euros in cash. At other parties, she performed belly dances in an expensive costume Berlusconi had received as a gift from Libyan ruler Muammar al-Gaddafi.

Due to the actions of parties, the Public Prosecution Service had accused the 86-year-old former prime minister of abuse of office and promoting prostitution by minors. He was acquitted. On Wednesday, a third trial over allegations of corruption and witness bribery also ended with acquittals for both Berlusconi and el Mahroug.

The native Moroccan wants to tell her point of view with the book – to “finally be heard, really seen”, as she writes on the first pages. She was sucked into a story that “overwhelmed and pulled her away”. In the book she also emphasizes the statement: “I am not a prostitute.”

The affair came to light in 2010 when el Mahroug was arrested in Milan on charges of theft and Berlusconi – the prime minister at the time – intervened with the police. He claimed the teen was a niece of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. In 2011 charges were filed against Berlusconi. (aeg/sda/dpa)