Italy calls for quick trial as murder-charge marines return

Agencies/New Delhi

“The sooner we see the special court going ahead and concluding the better it is,” de Mistura told a press conference at the Italian embassy, adding: “In the current circumstances the matter of a very few months would be the ideal.”

The marines were arrested in India in February 2012 after shooting dead two fishermen while guarding an Italian oil tanker sailing off India’s southwestern coast.

After they were granted bail by the Supreme Court to fly home to vote last month, Italy announced it would not return the men, sparking fury in New Delhi.

De Mistura said a “diplomatic crisis” had been averted with the return of the men to New Delhi and he acknowledged the U-turn in Rome might “be appearing a bit odd.”

The change of heart came after Italy received an undertaking from the Indian government that the marines did not face the possibility of the death penalty, which is handed down in India for the “rarest of rare” crimes, he said.

“For us the death penalty is a no-no,” he explained. “Can you imagine for our own military? It is even more of a no-no.”

“The marines are at our embassy,” he said.

According to Mistura, the two Italian marines were in international waters when the firing incident - in which two Indian fishermen were killed - took place and were liable to be judged in their own country. “A potential diplomatic crisis has been avoided,” he said.

Hailing Italy’s decision to send back the two marines to stand trial, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said diplomacy did the work and denied that any deal was stuck on their return.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also expressed happiness at Rome’s decision to send back the two marines. “I am happy that the integrity and dignity of the Indian judicial process has been upheld,” he told reporters. “We are happy with the outcome. I welcome the return of Italian marines,” he added.