The Italian doctor who cut off the respirator of a terminally ill man who pleaded to be disconnected from life support could lose his job.

A medical board in the northern city of Cremona, where the doctor is based, is investigating Dr. Mario Riccio, who assisted in the suicide earlier this month of 60-year-old writer Piergiorgio Welby.

The bedridden muscular dystrophy patient's euthanasia campaign set off a firestorm of indignation across predominantly Roman Catholic Italy, but it also mobilized thousands of Italians and Europeans who held vigils urging for a compassionate assisted death.

Euthanasia is illegal in Italy and the medical board is expected to enforce disciplinary action against Riccio.

Medical board president Mario Bianchi questioned the anesthesiologist before announcing the case should go before the disciplinary committee Thursday.

"If I were him, I would have done the same thing," Riccio told the Associated Press by phone, saying he recognized the high-profile case probably warranted an investigation.

Disciplinary action against Riccio could range from a warning, to barring him from the medical profession, board officials in Cremona said.

Welby was paralyzed and confined to a bed with only a voice box interpreting his eye muscles as a means of communication.

After Welby failed in a Rome court to force doctors to comply with his wishes to die, Riccio said he volunteered to give Welby sedatives and stayed with him until he passed away from cardiac arrest.

The doctor maintained his actions did not amount to euthanasia, saying instead the decision to disconnect Welby's respirator conformed with every patient's constitutional right to refuse treatment.

In Italy, doctors found guilty of actively helping patients commit suicide can face up to 15 years in prison. Riccio's case sparked outcries from centre-right parties that have called Welby's death "an act of violence" and a murder.

Police briefly questioned Riccio on Dec. 21, the day Welby died, but no charges were laid.

Mourners on Sunday attended Welby's funeral, but the Roman Catholic Church in Rome wouldn't allow a religious ceremony. 

With files from the Associated Press