India: end of criminal proceedings against two Italians
For 9 years, India has been trying to pursue the two Italian soldiers on its soil, for the murder of the two fishermen from Kerala.
AFP - LAURENCE THOMANN
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
In India, the government has agreed to end the criminal proceedings against two Italian servicemen.
In 2012, the two navies, in charge of the security of an oil tanker, shot at a fishing craft as they passed off the coast of India, believing they were pirates.
After nine years of legal and diplomatic disputes, the case should be resolved by the payment of a large sum of money to the families of the deceased.
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With our correspondent in New Delhi,
Sébastien Farcis
For 9 years, India has been trying to pursue the two Italian soldiers on its soil, for the murder of the two fishermen from Kerala.
But Italy has always refused such a lawsuit, arguing that the incident happened when the
tanker Enrica Lexie was
sailing in international waters, therefore outside Indian jurisdiction.
Last July, the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration for the Laws of the Sea ruled in favor of Rome, but recognized India's right to seek compensation.
Italy has accepted and has just paid 1.1 million euros to the Indian government: 450,000 euros will go to each of the two families of fishermen killed by the Italian military, and the rest to the owners of their boats.
The Indian prosecutor has therefore called for an end to the prosecution of Italian soldiers in India, which the Supreme Court should accept next Tuesday.
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