The Italian government has approved the use of sophisticated surveillance tools to spy on members of humanitarian NGOs as it is said to have been seen as a threat to national security.
Alfredo Mantovano, the secretary general of the minister, was hospitalized during a classified meeting with Copasir, the National Security Committee, according to anyone familiar with the situation.
Copasir is investigating whether the secret service violated the law using graphite, military-grade spyware created by Israel-based Paragon Solutions to monitor activists and journalists, and hopes to report its findings soon.
Giorgia Meloni's government has been under pressure to deal with the incident since January when Italian activists and journalists were warned by WhatsApp, a messaging app owned by Meta that their phones were being targeted by Spyware.
Although the government initially denied involvement, Mantovano, who oversees the intelligence reporting agency, told the committee that SPYware targeted Luca Casarini and Giuseppe Caccia, the founders of an NGO seeking to protect refugees across the Mediterranean.
He said the spyware was approved by the government and the Attorney General of the Rome Court of Appeals, and the Intelligence Reporting Agency used a surveillance system within the parameters of the law to conduct an “preventive” investigation into illegal immigration. He denied that spyware was used to target Francesco Cancerato, the editor-in-chief of the Italian news outlet fan page.
First reported claims of Mantovano La Republicahas not been denied by the government so far.
Paragon suspended relations with Italy when the violation manifested, a person familiar with the matter told the Guardian. The company's spyware is intended for criminal use.
Mediterranea Savingman has been informed of Mantovano's claims by journalist sources, saying that “secret operations worthy of the administration” have been made with a statement that “they are not “pushed out into the world.”
After the newsletter promotion
In addition to the Copasir investigation, prosecutors from five cities, including Rome, Palermo, Naples, Bologna and Venice, are investigating the claims after complaints have been filed against targets of Mattia Ferrari, priest Mattia Ferrari, priest targets and standard meditation activist David Jambio.
“Five prosecutors are investigating and I believe someone has the courage to reach the bottom and demonstrate that obviously this is a power abuse and there's nothing else.”
