(ANSA) - Vienna, June 15 - The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) urged Italy on Tuesday to drop or amend a contested bill aimed at restricting the use of wiretaps and their publication before trials.

The OSCE called on the government to withdraw the current measure and modify it to bring it into line with international standards guaranteeing freedom of the press.

The bill, which was approved by the Senate on a confidence vote last week, is now at the Lower House for a third and final reading. OSCE's Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, said in a statement she was "concerned that the Senate approved a bill that could seriously hinder investigative journalism in Italy despite several warnings from my Office.

"It marks a trend towards criminalizing journalistic work," said Mijatovic.

"Journalists must be free to report on all cases of public interest and must be able to choose how they conduct a responsible investigation. The draft law in its current form contradicts OSCE commitments, especially as it prohibits the use of some confidential sources and materials which may be necessary for meaningful investigative journalism in the service of democracy," Mijatovic said.

The largest centre-left opposition group, the Democratic Party (PD), did not take part in the Senate vote last Thursday while the second-biggest, Italy of Values (IdV) voted against it after vainly trying to stop the ballot with an all-night sit-in.

The opposition says the measure is undemocratic and will 'gag' the press and hurt probes but the Senate whip for Premier Silvio Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PdL) party, Maurizio Gasparri, said the government was "proud" of it.

Gasparri argued that wiretaps should only be a "last resort" in investigations while "today there is constant use, and some probes start with wiretaps".

He also argued that the measure will put an end to "trial by the media".

Gasparri accused left-leaning papers of using wiretaps against Berlusconi "to try to overturn the will of the people".

The measure has sparked protests not only from the opposition but also from prosecutors and the media.

Some Italian dailies on Friday came out with special editions protesting the bill.

Left-leaning daily La Repubblica, a frequent critic of Berlusconi and his government, ran an empty front page containing only a sticker in the middle saying "The gag law denies citizens the right to be informed".

La Repubblica, which has often been sued by Berlusconi over its coverage of scandals, has in recent weeks been flagging all of the articles with similar stickers saying "under the gag law you wouldn't be able to read this article".

Il Fatto Quotidiano, a small openly anti-Berlusconi daily, put a black mourning band on top of its masthead.

The liberal daily La Stampa blanked out two regular columns and the leftwing L'Unita' ran a stark front page with a huge three-line banner headline saying Gag Law Approved, against a black background.

Corriere della Sera, Italy's largest newspaper, did not join the announced 'mourning' move but ran an editorial saying the passage of the bill from the Senate to the House was "a dark page for lawmaking on justice issues". The draft measure would make it harder to obtain authorisation for wiretaps, restrict their duration, and slap stiff fines on newspaper publishers and journalists who publish wiretaps before investigations reach trial, a process that can take years in Italy's slow justice system.

The Italian journalists union has announced a full-scale news blackout on July 9 when the bill is expected to complete its final reading in the House.

Terrorism and mafia probes are excluded from the measure but prosecutors say many mafia cases stem from the investigation of lesser crimes.

The government says the measure will bring Italy into line with other Western countries and prevent the publication of wiretaps that invade privacy but have no bearing on probes.

The European Commission on Friday said it would be "very vigilant" on the issue of press freedom.

"The European Commission does not comment on drafts of measures which are still being discussed by parliament but it is clear that we are very vigilant on any situation that might create problems," an EC spokesperson said.