(ANSA) Florence, January, 21 - Italy is considering passing
a decree law to make it illegal for Italians to fight for
Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria and Iraq, Italian Undersecretary
for Home Affairs Domenico Manzione said Wednesday.
Premier Matteo Renzi's cabinet could pass the decree on
foreign fighters as soon as Thursday, Manzione told reporters on
the fringes of the inauguration of a museum on the Shoah in
Florence.
The text of the law "would foresee the possibility of
introducing into our order sanctions against people who are
enrolled to go and fight abroad," he said.
"We all have a problem in Europe of the so-called returning
fighters from war zones," he added.
"We have it less than other European countries but since
the phenomenon is there the government seriously is considering
approving a decree law for Thursday, or otherwise a delegate
law, that would deal with this subject".
Manzione also said it had been "prudent" of authorities to
expel from Italy Furkan Semih Dundar, a Turkish student at the
elite Scuola Normale in Pisa, after the Turk was quoted as
saying in emails that he wanted to blow up an embassy.
Also Wednesday the Italian police force ordered that border
controls be reinforced amid the alarm caused by this month's
Islamist terrorist attacks in France.
"The growing security demands deriving from the current
international scenario make it necessary to strengthen and
optimize (border controls)," read a circular letter issued by
the police's central migration directorate.
The letter tells officers working at border to make
"systematic use" of databases to help combat international
terrorism.
Meanwhile the intelligence coordinating body Copasir called
for more protection for secret service agents working under
cover against terror suspects and said the government should
make a "significant increase" in the resources available to the
intelligence services so that new staff can be hired in delicate
operations and new equipment can be purchased to counter cyber
terrorism, interior ministry sources said.
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