Rome, 5 Feb. (AKI) - Doctors will be able to report illegal immigrants to the Italian government, under legislation approved by the Senate or upper house of parliament on Thursday. The move has already drawn criticism from the centre-left opposition and from the Doctors without Borders medical charity in Italy.

"This crosses the line between rigour and persecution," said the opposition's chief whip in the Senate, Anna Finocchiaro, after the legislation was approved by 156 votes to 132 with one abstention.

The move will discourage illegal immigrants from seeking medical attention, Finocchiaro warned.

"The disease of fear is spreading in the country," she said.

The opposition Democratic Party's chief whip in the lower house of parliament's social affairs committee and former health minister Livia Turco agreed.

"This senseless and barbarous legislation will drive away from the national health service those who have no other hope of medical attention," Turco said.

"This will leave all of us more vulnerable to infectious diseases."

She urged doctors, nurses, volunteers as well as all Italian citizens to lobby MPs to reintroduce a previous ban on doctors from reporting illegal immigrants to the authorities.

Doctors without Borders Italy said it was "deeply worried and alarmed" by the Senate's lifting of the ban on doctors being allowed to report illegal immigrants.

"This could cause the dangerous 'sanitary exclusion' of a group of foreigners living in Italy," the group stated.

It said it hoped the lower house of parliament would reject the Senate's move.

The amendment to the previous ban was tabled by the anti-immigrant Northern League party, which is part of the conservative ruling coalition.

The parliament on Wednesday approved a new law imposing a 200 euros charge for immigrants requesting a permit of stay in Italy, also the initiative of the Northern League.