Berlusconi rivals rally support against new law

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Italian opposition parties are planning to demonstrate Tuesday against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's attempt to pass legislation that critics say would protect him in an ongoing court case.

Berlusconi is currently on trial in Milan, accused of paying $600,000 to British lawyer David Mills to give false testimony in his favor during trials in the 1990s.

Both men deny the charges; Mills is the estranged husband of UK government minister Tessa Jowell, who is not linked in any way to the case.

A verdict in the trial could be delayed, however, because the Italian parliament -- controlled by Berlusconi's allies -- is debating legislation to suspend trials that carry a penalty of less than 10 years in prison.

That measure, which would suspend such "low-priority" cases for one year, would cover the prime minister's current trial.

It is a move that critics say would benefit Berlusconi's own interests.

Former magistrate Antonio di Pietro, who investigated Berlusconi in the early 1990s and now leads the small opposition party Italy of Values, plans a demonstration for Tuesday evening in central Rome. His party has been active in the parliamentary opposition.

Berlusconi is no stranger to trials and investigations. Since he first became prime minister 14 years ago, he has been on trial 17 times facing such charges as corruption, false accounting, and tax fraud.

Berlusconi accuses magistrates of conducting a witch hunt against him.

"I've never been convicted," the prime minister told a crowd of business leaders last month, "either because I didn't commit the alleged crime or because the crime didn't exist."

Critics, however, say Berlusconi has used his position to change laws in order to escape prosecution.

Berlusconi says the measure currently before parliament is designed to clear a backlog of court cases. He has promised not to use the law to suspend his own trial, but critics aren't convinced.

"We need to know if the person who became prime minister bribed a witness in a trial," di Pietro told CNN recently. "If the trial is suspended, Italians will be denied the right to know who they elected."

Berlusconi, who maintains he's done nothing wrong, says Italians know who he is and trust him enough to have elected him three times. He accuses magistrates of trying to change the will of the people.

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