Cutting the time police are
authorised to conduct wiretaps, as the government wants to do in
a bill going through parliament, will reduce the scope and power
of investigations, national anti-mafia and anti-terrorism
prosecutor Giovanni Melillo told the Senate justice committee
Wednesday.
"In an era dominated by digitalization, regulating the times of
wiretapping activities - which are now almost always telematic -
results in an incomprehensible compression of investigative
choices and an irreparable precipice of the function of
ascertaining crimes", he said on the wiretapping bill recently
approved in the upper house, which sets a 45-day limit on
wiretapping.
"The technical complexity is incompatible with the legislative
claim to demonstrate the acquisition of specific and concrete
elements every 15 days", he added.
Naples Chief Prosecutor Nicola Gratteri, the former longtime
Calabrian 'Ndrangheta pointman, said on Italian TV Tuesday night
that the new 45-day wiretapping limit would hobble
investigators.
He cited as an example 'Ndrangheta kidnappings which regularly
went on for months.
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