There is no such thing as useless
wiretaps, National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor Giovanni Melillo said
on Wednesday.
"Personally, I do not know of any unnecessary wiretaps, because
they are ordered by a judge through an act that is not private
when proceeding in relation to serious crimes," Melillo said in
a hearing before the parliamentary Anti-Mafia Committee.
There is a need to for more guarantees and greater efficiency in
the use of wiretaps, without backtracking in the use of wiretaps
themselves, he added.
"The national prosecutor and the other districts have sent a
note to the Justice Minister highlighting the serious state of
the infrastructure supporting the wiretapping system and the
urgent need for decisive action," said Melillo.
"On the one hand, there is a need for more guarantees on these
issues and, on the other, for greater efficiency, but I would
like to make it clear that it is a matter of increasing
guarantees and efficiency at the same time, without any
backtracking on wiretaps themselves," he continued.
Parliament is examining a government justice reform including,
among other measures, new restrictions on the publication of
information obtained from wiretaps.
However, on Monday Justice Minister Carlo Nordio said in future
the government plans to introduce further changes to the rules
on wiretaps to protect the freedom and secrecy of conversations.
"We will intervene to fully implement Article 15 of the
Constitution, which affirms the freedom and secrecy of
conversations. Right now we have intervened partially to protect
the third party, that is, the person who is mentioned in the
conversations of others," Nordio told Agora' on Rai Tre.
"Later on we will also intervene to protect the dignity and
freedom of people who are talking and must speak to each other
in confidentiality, because confidentiality is the flip side of
freedom," he continued.
Nordio said such changes would not compromise investigations
into organised crime.
On Wednesday Melillo also expressed concerns about the risk of
mafia infiltration in the European Union-funded national
recovery and resilience plan (NRRP), saying that the country's
credibility is at stake.
"I cannot but express great concern, because the risk of
exposing this gigantic public finance manoeuvre to the
dispossession of resources intended for the country's recovery
is great," the nation anti-mafia prosecutor told the
parliamentary committee.
"The test for the anti-mafia prevention system and, later, for
the judicial machinery will carry a bitter price for the
credibility of the country if it fails, and it also concerns the
judicial system, which must account for its work on this front
as well," said Melillo.
Italy is set to receive a total of nearly 200 billion euros from
the EU in support of projects to make its economy greener and
more modern on condition that the targets agreed with the
European Commission are met by the 2026 deadline.
The country is currently awaiting delayed payment of the third
installment of 19 billion euros amid concerns that some of the
projects have become bogged down by delays.
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