Italy's former Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti has made an impassioned plea for justice at an appeals trial in Sicily, where he faces a 10-year jail sentence for collusion with the Mafia.

I pray to God that he will preserve me until the just conclusion of these two incredible judicial cases

Giulio Andreotti

At the start of the new trial in Palermo, the frail 83-year-old statesman denied the charges in a lengthy speech in front of the packed courtroom.

Andreotti was sentenced in a separate case to 24 years in jail earlier this month for complicity in the murder of a journalist - a ruling that he said took his breath away.

He has claimed that he is the subject of a vendetta by political rivals, and by gangsters who were targeted by anti-Mafia crackdowns during his period in power.

The current court hearing is an appeal brought by prosecutors against Andreotti's acquittal in a 1999 trial where he was accused of being the Mafia's main backer in the corridors of power during his long career.

State's evidence

It is alleged that he colluded with the Cosa Nostra in Sicily in the 1970s to help him rise up through the hierarchy of the Christian Democrats, the party which formed every post-war government in Italy until the early 1990s.

I do not accept that I was involved with these people for whom I feel total disdain

Giulio Andreotti

The verdict is expected early next year.

"I pray to God that he will preserve me until the just conclusion of these two incredible judicial cases," the veteran politician said in the dock.

"When I am up above there are so many things for which I will have to count on divine mercy. But down here I am counting only on justice."

He added: "I do not accept that I was involved with these people for whom I feel total disdain."

The public prosecutor's office has asked to hear the testimony of Antonino Giuffre, who, after his arrest in April, turned state's evidence that led to the arrest of 29 Mafia members in September.

Mr Giuffre is said to be the right-hand man of Bernardo Provenzano, believed to be the boss running the Mafia now who has been on the run for nearly 40 years.

Adjournment

The court adjourned until 13 December for magistrates to decide whether some 60 pages of testimony from Mr Giuffre can be heard in court.

Andreotti, a giant in Italian post-war politics, is expected to appeal against his recent conviction for complicity in the murder of an investigative journalist.

Three years ago, a lower court cleared him of any involvement in this crime.

Italian law does not allow the jailing of anyone over 75, so the worst Andreotti can expect for the time being is house arrest.

He will remain free until the appeals process is exhausted.