Italy yet again initiated a legal battle at an international tribunal to bring home an Italian marine who is barred from leaving India. The marine along with one other had shot and killed two Indian fishermen in 2012, who, Rome says, were mistaken for pirates.
The detained marine Salvatore Girone lives in the Italian Embassy in Delhi. He is banned from leaving the city until the dispute that has soured bilateral ties between the countries is resolved.
Girone and Massimiliano Latorre were arrested by the police in 2012 for shooting and killing two fishermen, while protecting an Italian oil tanker as part of an anti-piracy mission off the coast of Kerala. The two fishermen were shot in the head and the stomach respectively.
“Enrica Lexie incident”, named after the oil tanker, is now a subject of the bitter fight between the two countries.
Ties soured even further after the two marines overstayed in Italy after they were allowed to return to the country in 2013 to vote during the general elections.
Both marines were then barred from leaving India again pending a trial, although they have not yet been charged. However, Latorre was allowed to travel back to Italy in 2014 for medical treatment after he suffered a stroke.
“Girone is obliged to live thousands of kilometres away from his country and family, with two children still at a tender age and is deprived of his liberty,” Italian ambassador Francesco Azzarello told the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
“He has not been subjected to any charge. his rights are seriously suffering,” said Azzarello according to the Hindustan Times (HT) at the Hague-based arbitration body set up in 1899 to rule in disputes between states and private entities.
“Girone should be allowed to come home pending the final determination of this tribunal,” Azzarelo further insisted.
Indian courts in January had further extended Latorre’s permission to stay in Italy until 30 April.
According to a HT report, Italy had already initiated arbitration proceedings last year and a UN body, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), ordered India to suspend court proceedings against the pair in August.
According to Italy, Enrica Lexie was in international waters at the time of the incident. India though argues that the case is not a maritime dispute but ‘a double murder at sea’.
The case has become a political controversy in Italy. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is regularly flayed by the opposition leaders for failing to secure the release of both men.
