For nearly two months, the Italian government has dodged questions, denied allegations, and altered its stance amid growing scrutiny from opposition leaders and activists, according to Euractiv.
However, a significant development has emerged. Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, who oversees intelligence agencies, has reportedly conceded that Italy’s security services authorised the use of spyware to monitor members of the migrant rescue NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans.
The parliamentary intelligence oversight committee (Copasir) is currently examining whether the deployment of Israeli-made spyware adhered to Italian law and whether intelligence operatives acted within their legal mandate in approving preemptive wiretaps.
Leaked details from Tuesday’s session suggest Mantovano admitted that the government had sanctioned surveillance on certain activists. However, he insisted that Fanpage.it director Francesco Cancellato had been never targeted.
Mantovano defended the operations, stating they were conducted in full compliance with intelligence laws and had received approval from both the government and the Attorney General of Rome’s Court of Appeal. Moreover, the undersecretary justified the surveillance by claiming Mediterranea Saving Humans, which conducts migrant rescue operations in the Mediterranean, had been deemed a national security concern.
He claimed that the spyware Graphite, developed by Israeli company Paragon Solutions, was used because it was the only tool available to intelligence agencies at the time.
Despite the government’s admissions, the mystery of who surveilled Fanpage.it’s director remains unsolved. Authorities continue to deny intelligence involvement, while parallel investigations by prosecutors in Naples, Rome, Venice, Bologna, and Palermo have yet to provide conclusive answers.
