IANS/New Delhi/Brussels

The government yesterday blasted the European Parliament for adopting a resolution calling for the repatriation of two Italian

marines charged with killing two Indian fishermen.
“The case involving the two Italian marines ... is sub judice and is being discussed between India and Italy,” an external

affairs ministry spokesperson said.
He said the Supreme Court had on January 14 granted three months extension to marine Massimiliano Latorre for staying in Italy on

health grounds. The other marine, Salvatore Girone, lives in the Italian embassy in New Delhi.
“Under these circumstances, the European Parliament would have been well advised not to adopt the resolution,” he said.
The Indian embassy in Brussels also issued a similar statement.
The European Parliament on Thursday hoped that the row between India and Italy over the prosecution of the marines accused of

killing the fishermen in 2012 should be settled under “Italian jurisdiction or through international arbitration”.
The members called for the marines to be repatriated to Italy as their detention without charge was a “serious breach of human

rights”, according to an European Parliament press release.
In a resolution, the members expressed “great sadness” over the death of the Indian fishermen but voiced concern over the

detention of the marines.
“We have to ensure that the principles of international law are complied with and I think that the fate of the two marines will

be linked to the credibility of our anti-piracy efforts,” said EU foreign affairs high representative Federica Mogherini.
In February 2012, the two marines, on board an Italian commercial vessel, shot and killed the Indian fishermen after mistaking

them for pirates.
Italy said the incident took place in international waters and the marines should be tried in Italy or in an international court.

India insists the incident occurred in Indian waters.
The two marines face murder charges.
Disagreeing with the house, Neena Gill, British member of the European Parliament and vice chair of the parliamentary delegation

for India, expressed her disappointment over the resolution.
“I rise to express my disappointment about the way this matter has been addressed by this house. And I do have strong

reservations about the resolution.
“While the EU has a duty to stand up for its citizens, it is hard to understand that the lives of Indian fishermen should be

valued lower than the liberty of the two EU citizens,” said Gill.
She called on Mogherini, a former Italian foreign minister, “to avoid further escalation of this case which is fundamentally a

bilateral issue between Italy and India”.