Fears over Berlusconi wiretap curbs

Opposition politicians, and even some pro-government legislators, expressed growing concern, 10 August 2005, about a proposal by Silvio Berlusconi, Italy's prime minister, to restrict the use of wiretapping in judicial inquiries. Mr Berlusconi said recently that he wanted to limit the practice to investigations into terrorism and the mafia, and to punish those who leak or publish recorded telephone conversations with five to 10 years in prison.