Compulsory military service was abolished in Italy last January after cross-party politicians agreed that in the 21st century the country needed a professional army made up of career soldiers and volunteers, rather than youngsters forced to wear a uniform. The last round of draftees came from the section of the population born in 1985. In the preceding years many young Italians had done their military service cheerfully but for others it had been more problematic, forcing them to delay their entry into the world of work or to interrupt their studies. Some youths with parents of dual nationality chose to renounce their Italian citizenship and become American, German or British in order to avoid the draft. Other young men lied during the call-up interview and said they were homosexual, which led to them being excused but probably created more problems than it was worth. There was an alternative. Conscientious objectors could sign up for civil service or some kind of social work, working in government institutions, local authorities or local hospitals. But many young men anxious to get on with their lives complained that filing records for the local council or working as a porter was deadly dull and that they were being used simply as cheap, unpaid labour. So there was general relief when parliament decided to end the obligation, although the problem of the "condanatti" - the condemned ones - remains to be resolved.

The DS says the 1,114 on the list are not deserters in the true sense of the word, a serious term that should only be applicable in the real military. True, some have deliberately dodged the draft and gone abroad or moved to another part of Italy. Others, however, may have moved address and never received their call-up papers from the carabinieri. The majority apparently commenced military service but did not finish it. A typical example would be a young man with a weekend pass who went off to Rimini, met a girl in a discotheque, and did not come back for five days. For such an offence he is liable to serve six months in jail. Many of these types, according to the DS, are "hidden" at an uncle's or grandmother's house.

In the run-up to the abolition of military service, supporters of an amnesty say the authorities fast-tracked many of the outstanding cases. They argue that to seek out these young men, have hearings and then put them in jail is a waste of public money. Under the law, the danger of insubordination no longer exists and if the young men are guilty of anything, it is of being young and a bit stupid. The first of the 1,114 has already been arrested. Renato T, who received a nine-month jail sentence for evading the draft, is locked up in Milan