India drops all charges against two Italian marines for killing fishermen off Kerala
All legal proceedings have been dropped in India against two Italian marines who shot and killed two fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012, Italy’s foreign minister said on Tuesday.
“All legal proceedings in India against our two marines... have been closed,” tweeted Luigi Di Maio. “It definitively brings this long episode to an end.”
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
The shelving of the case comes two months after India said it was prepared to accept compensation of 100 million rupees, or about 1.1 million euros, from Italy for the families of the two fishermen, following prolonged negotiations.
Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre were accused of murder for shooting the unarmed fishermen while protecting an Italian oil tanker as part of an anti-piracy mission off the southern Indian coast.
While Italy argued the marines were in international waters and had fired on the fishing boat because it failed to heed warnings to stay away, India called it a “double murder at sea” in which one fisherman was shot in the head and the other in the stomach.
The long-running case that soured relations between both countries, each of which claimed jurisdiction, made its way to the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague, which helps resolve disputes among states.
Last year, the PCA ruled that the marines were entitled to immunity in the case.
In 2016, the same tribunal allowed Girone, who had been living in the Italian embassy in New Delhi, to return to Italy. Latorre had already returned home two years earlier for treatment after suffering a stroke.
Both marines were members of Italy’s elite San Marco Marine regiment.
Read more: Nigeria security forces rescue ten foreign nationals kidnapped by pirates
-
Italy extends entry ban for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Italy extended Sunday an entry ban for people coming from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as a continued precaution against the more transmissible ... Coronavirus -
Bollywood meets Hollywood as Indian stars wed at Italy villa
Bollywood stars Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh are getting married at a villa on Italy’s Lake Como with screen credits of its own. The ... Variety -
Britain to seek European maritime mission to counter Iran’s ‘piracy’
Britain will seek to put together a European-led maritime protection mission to ensure safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz after Iran seized a ... Middle East -
Nigeria security forces rescue ten foreign nationals kidnapped by pirates
Ten foreigners abducted by pirates last month were rescued in southern Nigeria, the army said.For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel ... World News -
Pirates kill 1, kidnap 15 crew of Turkish ship off West African coast
Pirates attacked a Turkish cargo ship off the West African coast, kidnapping 15 sailors and killing one, officials said Sunday.Turkey’s Maritime ... World News -
Greek ship crew held hostage by pirates off Nigerian coast
A ship management company is in talks to free three Greek sailors kidnapped earlier this month by pirates off the Nigerian coast, Athens’ Merchant ... World News -
Somali pirates attack Panama-flagged ship in first successful hijack since 2017
Somali pirates have hijacked a Panama-flagged ship, a regional official told Reuters on Thursday, the first successful hijack since 2017.The ship was ... World News -
Somali pirates free Iranian hostage captured in 2015
An Iranian man held by Somali pirates for more than four years was flown to Ethiopia’s capital Saturday after his captors released him because ... Middle East