Judges hit back at Berlusconi

Berlusconi suggested some judges were mentally disturbed

Magistrates' courts across Italy suspended hearings for 15 minutes on Thursday in protest at what they see as repeated attacks on their professionalism by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Judges assembled in courthouses to read out a statement which said they were "alarmed" by the attacks, which were undermining people's trust in the judiciary.

Mr Berlusconi, who has been the subject of a number of investigations, has denounced prosecutors as being part of a left-wing conspiracy to drive him from power with false business corruption charges.

The independence of the judiciary is not a privilege of the magistrates but an essential tool to guarantee citizens' rights Magistrates' statement

He recently suggested that those who pursued cases against politicians were mentally disturbed.

The remarks led to a rare intervention by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, who said that Italians had full confidence in their magistrates.

'Left-leaning body'

In June, the Italian parliament passed a law giving Mr Berlusconi immunity from prosecution while he remains in office.

He has accused magistrates of bringing down his last government in 1994 with false accusations of corruption - and of now repeating the accusations.

But magistrates say the accusations are not just damaging to members of their profession.

"The independence of the judiciary is not a privilege of the magistrates but an essential tool to guarantee citizens' rights," their statement said.

Justice Minister Roberto Castelli responded by describing the executive council of the National Association of Magistrates, which organised the protest, as a "left-leaning political body against the government".