Italian guards to be arrested over Indian fishermen deaths

[gslv]

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti called his Indian counterpart Manomohan Singh on Wednesday, warning him against setting a "dangerous precedent" with the prosecution of two Italian naval guards in India.

"Any attitude from the Indian side that is not fully in line with international law... risks creating a dangerous precedent for international peacekeeping and anti-piracy missions," Monti was quoted as saying to Singh. "Missions in which Indian military are also involved," he stressed.

"The alleged incident -- the circumstances of which still have to be clarified -- occurred in international waters and jursidiction is therefore only Italian," Monti also told Singh, according to a government statement. Monti said he was following the case with "maximum attention and concern."

Singh reportedly told Monti that he wanted "to avoid tensions between India and Italy" and that he would look into the possibility of "a transfer of the two naval guards from prison to a place of custody more suited to their status."

Italy's government has been heavily criticised for its handling of the escalating row, which started last month when the soldiers deployed to guard an oil tanker allegedly killed two Indian fishermen they mistook for pirates.

The two, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, have been imprisoned in the southern state of Kerala pending a murder investigation despite pressure from Italy for them to be handed over to Italian authorities for prosecution.

Italy argues India does not have jurisdiction in the case as it involved an Italian-flagged vessel and occurred in international waters near India. India disputes this, saying the incident happened in waters under its jurisdiction. Foreign minister Giulio Terzi has accused India of infringing Italy's sovereignty and summoned India's ambassador to Rome on Tuesday after a court in Kerala ordered the two marines be held in prison.

In apparent reference to the case on Wednesday, Terzi said that the principle of immunity and national jurisdiction in the case "is widely recognised but needs to be stressed." Fishermen's killing: Italian PM Mario Monti warns Manmohan - The Times of India

 

[Abingdonboy]

ROME: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti called his Indian counterpart Manomohan Singh on Wednesday, warning him against setting a "dangerous precedent" with the prosecution of two Italian naval guards in India.

"Any attitude from the Indian side that is not fully in line with international law... risks creating a dangerous precedent for international peacekeeping and anti-piracy missions," Monti was quoted as saying to Singh. "Missions in which Indian military are also involved," he stressed.

"The alleged incident -- the circumstances of which still have to be clarified -- occurred in international waters and jursidiction is therefore only Italian," Monti also told Singh, according to a government statement. Monti said he was following the case with "maximum attention and concern."

Singh reportedly told Monti that he wanted "to avoid tensions between India and Italy" and that he would look into the possibility of "a transfer of the two naval guards from prison to a place of custody more suited to their status."

Italy's government has been heavily criticised for its handling of the escalating row, which started last month when the soldiers deployed to guard an oil tanker allegedly killed two Indian fishermen they mistook for pirates.

The two, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, have been imprisoned in the southern state of Kerala pending a murder investigation despite pressure from Italy for them to be handed over to Italian authorities for prosecution.

Italy argues India does not have jurisdiction in the case as it involved an Italian-flagged vessel and occurred in international waters near India. India disputes this, saying the incident happened in waters under its jurisdiction. Foreign minister Giulio Terzi has accused India of infringing Italy's sovereignty and summoned India's ambassador to Rome on Tuesday after a court in Kerala ordered the two marines be held in prison.

In apparent reference to the case on Wednesday, Terzi said that the principle of immunity and national jurisdiction in the case "is widely recognised but needs to be stressed." Fishermen's killing: Italian PM Mario Monti warns Manmohan - The Times of India

FFS! And he's not interested in Italy setting a "dangerous precedent" by killing innocent fishermen trying to earn an honest wage and provide for their families!! Hope MMS told him wear to stick it!

 

[IndoUS]

I thought it was illegal to carry weapons on board a ship if you are sailing in international waters. Unless the ship belonged to the Italian Government, or unless the guards were there for a rescue????

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

obviously i either misread from beginning or i just didnt follow this story carefully...i didnt realize these italian personnel were being kept in the indian custody

legalities say yes - it was int'l waters; common sense says this was not intentional


but at the same time, i'll have to side with india on this simply because 2 wage-earners were killed needlessly and its unfair to their families who are now probably suffering.....

it is india that should be making the angry phone calls, not the other way around


those pirates on those dinghys carry automatic weapons and RPGs --- it was a very stupid mistake to think that a few guys with poles and nets are Somali pirates. That's total carelessness.

 

[danger007]

In New Delhi, official sources said that Italy reiterated its view to the Indian envoy that Indian courts did not have jurisdiction to try the Italian Marines and stressed that they were entitled to immunity as they were fulfilling a "sovereign act" of protecting the ship against suspected pirates.

The sources in New Delhi said that India maintained since the case was in an Indian court, it was for the court to decide.

The sources added that vessel protection detachments, a term for military soldiers guarding the vessels, do not enjoy sanctity under global law.

The sources close to the developments also ruled out any discussion with the Indian government on any out-of-the-court settlement.
Fishermen killing: Italian PM calls Manmohan

 

[danger007]

Two Italian marines, who had been remanded in judicial custody in connection with the killing of two Indian fishermen, created a ruckus at the Central Prison here last night by resisting to occupy the room where they were to be lodged.

The marines, Latore Massimilano and Salvatore Girone, were brought to the Central Prison here from Kollam after the court there remanded them for another 14 days.

On arriving at the prison around 7:30pm, they initially put up some resistance to the orders of the authorities to occupy the room identified for them, prison sources said.

As the stand-off between the jail authorities and marines persisted for a couple of hours,Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Steffan de Mistura turned up to intervene and talk to the marines.

The prison authorities made it clear to the Italians that they haveno choice other than to obey the court order.After a stern warning from prison officials, the marines yielded and went to the room set apart for them.

While remanding the marines, the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Kollam had turned down their plea for all privileges in prison enjoyed by military officials as the Italian government still considered them as military officials.

The court, however, directed the prison authorities not to lodge them along with other prisoners and to provide medical facilities. They were also be allowed to interact with Italian visitors one hour everyday between 10 am and 1 pm.

According to jail officials, they were given Italian food as instructed by the court.

The two marines have been charged with murder for allegedly gunning down the two fishermen on February 15 from the Italian vessel 'Enrica Lexie' after suspecting them to be pirates.

Fishermen killing: Arrested Italian marines create ruckus in prison - India - DNA

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

did they give them red wine with their meal?

the head of Kerala jail should be sacked



im not even indian, but even im taking offense to this nonsense

 

[livingdead]

did they give them red wine with their meal?

the head of Kerala jail should be sacked



im not even indian, but even im taking offense to this nonsense

lol, let them eat food that they can digest, if they eat south indian, they will die.

 

[Abingdonboy]

did they give them red wine with their meal?

the head of Kerala jail should be sacked



im not even indian, but even im taking offense to this nonsense

They made the case they would not be able to "handle" South Asian cuisine (because South Asian cuisine is SO unpopular in the rest of the world!!) so they said they would get something they could "stomach" or go hungrey. The court did the only thing they could short of force feeding them or creating a huge diplomatic no-ha and diverting attention away from their crimes. Good on prison+ courts for making them stay in the same conditions as everyone else in their situation ( accused of crimes in Kerala) and good on Goai for taking a stand, holding their nerve and not agreeing to an out of court settlement.