- ROME -- Torture may be acceptable
provided it is administered in small doses, says a bill under discussion
in the Italian parliament that has outraged human rights organisations.
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- The Chamber of Deputies yesterday passed an amendment,
tabled by the far-right Northern League, to the bill which opposition MPs
denounced as a green light to "limited" torture but which government
supporters said was essential for police.
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- The amendment says violence and threats must be used
repeatedly to qualify as torture. The League said the previous wording
had been influenced by police violence at the G8 summit in Genoa three
years ago.
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- "We ... have to make it clear that we don't support
those who want to criminalise the police, making their job practically
impossible," said Carolina Lussana, the League MP who drafted the
amendment.
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- Marco Bertotto, the chairman ofAmnesty International
in Italy, said the law did not respect the terms of a United Nations convention
on torture which was ratified by Italy in 1988.
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/story.jsp?story=514297
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