ROME, Nov 27 (Reuters) - The Italian Senate on Wednesday expelled Silvio Berlusconi from parliament following his conviction for tax fraud, in what the centre-right leader called a day of mourning for Italian democracy.
The Senate speaker declared he was ineligible for a seat in parliament after the house rejected a series of challenges by Berlusconi's supporters to a proposal for his expulsion. No formal vote was held.
Berlusconi was sentenced in August to four years in prison, commuted to a year under house arrest or in community service, for masterminding an illegal scheme to reduce the tax bill of his media company Mediaset.
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