Italy, Don’t Help Bin Laden

At a time when most European nations are cracking down on terrorists, Italy is poised to let more potential mass murderers slip through the cracks. A bill the Italian Parliament passed to make it more difficult to use evidence from other countries against criminal defendants in Italy fails the smell test because it is clear that one of its beneficiaries would be the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi. A closer look shows the legislation is even worse--another likely beneficiary would be the terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

Berlusconi is prime minister for a second time, still one of the world’s wealthiest men and still one of Italy’s most investigated. Berlusconi and an associate have been charged with bribing judges in Rome to win a favorable ruling on a business transaction before he became prime minister. He has insisted he is innocent and that the charges are political. But the legislation passed this week would make it more difficult to use evidence from Swiss banks against him.

The legislation, sponsored by allies of the prime minister, would also make it more difficult to use evidence already gathered from other nations in a case involving five North African terrorism suspects who are believed to have links to Bin Laden’s Al Qaeda terrorist organization. Opponents of the legislation point out that while other U.S. allies in the fight against terror are promising increased cooperation, Italy is threatening to make it tougher to track financial transactions across borders.

The bill imposes requirements for seals of approval, authenticated translations and various procedures that would tax the ability of a legal genius but bring a smile to a terrorist or other criminal. It would be bad enough at any time, but it’s especially odious now. Italy’s presidents rarely decline to sign a measure passed by Parliament. This legislation should be a glaring exception, and the president shouldn’t hesitate to reject it.