ROME, Nov 17: Seven-time Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti was sentenced on Sunday to 24 years in prison by a court in Perugia, central Italy for complicity in the 1979 murder of a journalist, his lawyers said.

“I have always believed and I continue to believe in justice, even if this evening I can barely accept such an absurdity,” the 83-year-old Andreotti said after the sentence was announced.

Andreotti was charged with complicity in the murder of Mino Pecorelli, a journalist who was about to publish a book criticising him.

He had been acquitted of the charges three years ago but the public prosecutor’s office in Perugia appealed the verdict.

Andreotti had been dubbed “Mr Italy” for his dominance of Italy’s post-war politics. He first became prime minister in 1972 and has been a minister 21 times. He now is a lifetime senator.—AFP