MILAN — Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy made a rare court appearance yesterday, greeting throngs of supporters gathered outside the courthouse after a closed-door hearing in a tax fraud case he has dismissed as groundless.
Berlusconi waved to reporters from inside a black sedan as he arrived at the courthouse tightly guarded by 100 riot police. After the two-hour hearing, he emerged briefly from the car on his way out to thank hundreds of supporters waiting outside.
“Thank you, thank you all,’’ Berlusconi told cheering supporters who waved Italian flags and banners bearing his party emblem. “It all went fine.’’
