ROME: Italy prosecutors have opened an investigation into the death of a Moroccan model who testified in one of the inquiries linked to ex-Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s “bunga bunga” parties.

Imane Fadil, 34, died March 1 at a Milan hospital, where she had been treated since Jan 29 exhibiting “symptoms of poisoning,” Milan prosecutor Francesco Greco said, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

In 2012, Fadil had told reporters that she feared for her safety after telling prosecutors investigating possible witness tampering in the case that she was offered money in exchange for her silence about what went on at the parties.

Berlusconi was acquitted by Italy’s highest court in 2015 of charges he paid for sex with an underage woman.

ANSA quoted Greco as lamenting that the Humanitas hospital in Rozzano didn’t report Imane’s complaints or symptoms that were consistent with poisoning while she was being treated. He said prosecutors were only informed of the death when Fadil’s lawyer reported it.

In a statement reported by ANSA, Humanitas said it provided the results of toxicological exams to prosecutors when they were completed March 6. ANSA quoted unnamed officials as saying the tests indicated a “mix of radioactive substances.” Autopsy results are pending.

Emails and calls to Humanitas and Greco weren’t immediately returned on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, March 17th, 2019