Berlusconi's attacker 'not fit to stand trial'

Judge Luisa Savoia placed Massimo Tartaglia under observation for a year in a psychiatric hospital where he has been held since February.

The ruling technically finds Tartaglia not guilty of the attack based on a psychiatric evaluation that found the defendant was not capable of knowingly or intentionally committing a crime at the time the attack took place, said defence lawyer Gian Marco Rubino.

"It is clear that the absolution is satisfactory from a trial point of view," Mr Rubino said. "As for the treatment, we are absolutely agreed, and we have always said since the day after the attack, that Massimo Tartaglia is a person who requires treatment."

The judge's decision means that Tartaglia may leave the hospital only by permission of his doctors, and he is strictly forbidden from attending any public demonstrations for a year, Mr Rubino said.

The 42-year-old Tartaglia has a history of psychological problems.

Tartaglia hurled a miniature statue of Milan's cathedral at Berlusconi at the end of a rally in Milan on December 13.

The 73-year-old premier, who spent about a month out of public view after the attack, is travelling in South America and there was no immediate comment from the premier's office.

The attack stirred public sympathy for Berlusconi at a time when he was fending off a sex scandal and legal troubles.