Rome, 25 Nov. (AKI) - An Italian Senate on Wednesday rejected a request by Naples prosecutors to arrest junior government minister Nicola Cosentino for alleged links with the local mafia or Camorra. According to Italian media, the committee voted 11 against and six in favour of the arrest, while one committee member abstained.

The committee was made up of MPs from the ruling coalition and opposition parties.

Cosentino (photo) is the deputy secretary for economy and finance and regional coordinator of Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's ruling People of Freedom party (PdL).

The 50-year-old MP is accused of doing business with the infamous Casalese clan of the Camorra over the illegal disposal of rubbish in the Naples area.

The accusations against Cosentino have been made by several Camorra turncoats and family members.

The Senate committee's decision to oppose Cosentino's arrest needs to be approved next month by the lower house of parliament, where the ruling coalition has a sizeable majority.

High profile former prosecutor and opposition Italy of Values party leader Antonio Di Pietro called the decision to reject Cosentino's arrest "shameful".

"The acquittal of the Right Hon. Cosentino is shameful for all Italians. Today, we have turned the umpteenth dark page in the history of Italian democracy," he said.

"Italy's political class has let itself off the hook again. This shows what our party has been saying for a long time - most politicians in the current parliament do not believe everyone is equal under the law."

Berlusconi has so far stood by Cosentino and said he should continue with his plan to run for governor of the Campania region surrounding Naples in elections due next year.

Cosentino has rejected calls for his resignation has accused one of the prosecutors investigating him, Giuseppe Narducci, of taking part in a pro-opposition rally in 2007 in Italy's Molise region.

Cosentino claims he is the victim of a "barbarous and uncivil" campaign to discredit him.