Yesterday, 19th May, Italian senators discussed about the completions of the bill reforming the current regulation about interceptions, known as "The gag-law".
The Senate's Justice Commission's go-ahead of yesterday is only a step in the process for making a bill into a law, but it's a sign of how Berlusconi's Government is going to regulate media: censoring them.
 
 Let's see how:




MAGISTRATES:
Interceptions, at the moment, are legal only in presence of serious evidence of crime and in the only case that they're esteemed as fundamental elements for investigation.
Moreover, the public prosecutors can start interceptions only on the base of "specific investigation acts" on the base of concrete proofs that the person under investigation is guilty.
The Preliminary Hearing Judge's approval is no longer enough: the interceptions must be permitted by the Court of the Region Capital.


MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT:
Regarding to the Members of Parliaments, they can be intercepted only with the Chamber’s authorization. The rule is valid both to make interceptions on a member's telephone and to use accidental interceptions made during the listening of someone else's call. 


PRIESTS (CATHOLIC CHURCH)
Despite the Opposition's disagreement, item 1, paragraph 24, of the bill is passed.
The item prescribes that public prosecutors, in the event of an interception of a churchman, must immediately inform the Vatican through the Cardinal Secretary of State.
Nothing is written about jews, muslims, and so on.

THE PRESS
The measures about publishing have already passed, while the measures about journalism are going to be passed on Monday 24th May.  
Editors must not publish the outcome of interceptions and investigations before the preliminary hearing takes place.
Punishment: the imprisonment and a fine with an amount ranging from 64.500 to 464.700 euro.
It's also forbidden to simply investigation acts that are not considered anymore as confidential.

The measure called 'D'Addario' prescribes that recording of conversation pieces and filming in the courtrooms are forbidden unless everybody assent.
Fraudulent recording and filming are punishable (prison for 6 months to 4 years)
The Senators will meet again next Monday to enact the measures about journalists that prescribes a 2 month-arrest or a fine with an amount ranging from 2.000 to 10.000 euro for those who publish acts or documents of criminal proceedings until the beginning of the trial.
It's possibile, moreover, the temporary removal from the list of Qualified Journalists.  

REACTIONS


Stefano Rodotà (an italian political and jurist, Professor and visiting Professor at a number of Universities around the World; one of the Creator of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, former President of the Italian Personal Data Protection Authority ) created the page 'No gag',  that at the moment collects about 76000 signatures; the Facebook group “Freedom is partecipation and information” that at the moment counts about 45.600 members.


Another group,  "Public Resistance against the interception bill'' has been created on facebook by Alessandro Tauro.

Repubblica, the first italian newspapers, asks the readers to send an e-mail containing a picture of them ''against the bill on the interceptions" ( nobavaglio@repubblica.it)


Other important subscription lists have been opened on the site of the Editors Laterza and in that of the Association Articolo 21.


The National Federation of the Italian Press has announced a general mobilization and a journalists' strike.
FNSI's Secretary Franco Siddi said:
"The interception’s bill is a dark page of our history. We're going to do anything we can to cancel it. The journalists' syndacate will hold out unrelentingly".