| It will be extremely difficult to get criminals from Italy While the EU is taking measures to simplify the extradition of criminals in light of the fight against terrorism, the Italian Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill that significantly complicates the procedure for extraditing criminals to other states. It will be much more difficult for Italian investigative authorities to obtain information from their foreign colleagues, since this now requires a large number of additional permits.
Critics of the adopted law argue that the project, developed by the conservative coalition under the leadership of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, was prepared solely in his personal interests. The Italian Themis, which several times brought cases against the billionaire media tycoon, never managed to bring them to completion. But their Spanish colleagues, led by the tireless judge Baltasar Garzon (the persecutor of the Chilean ex-dictator Pinochet), have made great progress in investigating the corruption of the Italian prime minister. The investigation in Madrid continues, and Berlusconi has decided to protect himself from a possible extradition request, Italian leftists are sure. The opposition was categorically against the law, because it believes that the document will prevent Italy from effectively fighting the mafia and terrorists, both home-grown and international, who have found refuge in the country. Berlusconi's opponents intend to ask the country's president to veto the law.
This is not the first time in recent times that Rome has failed to coordinate its actions with its European partners. First, the Minister of Defense doubted the need for Italy to participate in the anti-terrorist coalition, and then Berlusconi himself spoke about the superiority of Western civilization over Islamic civilization, causing a storm in the Arab world. Semyon CHARNY |
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