Agencies/Thiruvananthapuram


Girone (left) and Latorre: to remain in custody
A court in Kerala yesterday denied bail to two Italian marines charged with the murder of two fishermen who were shot dead off the country’s southwestern coast.
The move came a day after murder charges were laid against the marines and Rome recalled its ambassador from New Delhi for “consultations” over the case.
The marines deny the charges, saying they mistook the fishermen for pirates.
Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone were deployed as guards on an Italian oil tanker in the Indian Ocean when they shot dead the two fishermen on February 15.
The marines, who have been held in prison for three months, were denied bail at a court in Kollam in Kerala.
The judge said he accepted the prosecution’s argument that bail should be refused on the grounds the accused might seek to influence witnesses or flee the country.
He called for a “speedy trial” in order to “deliver natural justice in the case.”
In response to the charges, the foreign ministry in Rome said on Friday: “The Italian ambassador to New Delhi has been recalled to Rome for consultations on the matter of the marines.”
“We are sending a strong signal to avoid damaging our relationship,” said Italy’s deputy foreign minister, Staffan de Mistura, on his third mission to India to push for the sailors to be released into Italian custody.
The ambassador was recalled after three telephone calls by Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti to his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh, a visit by Italy’s defence minister and his own missions to India, de Mistura said in Kerala.
An official at India’s foreign ministry, who asked not to be identified, said it was unusual that a person of de Mistura’s rank would spend so much time on a case of this nature.
“It does not bother us, but he needs to understand that it is not a UN job in Iraq or Afghanistan, where hands-on diplomacy might help,” the official said.
“It doesn’t work here like that, he needs to understand we are slow, things move through a glacial process, but that’s how it is, diplomatic pressure won’t work.”
In a further escalation of the spat, India’s ambassador in Italy was summoned to the foreign ministry which “firmly signalled the unacceptable judicial developments related to the Italian sailors,” the ministry said in a statement.
India has said in the past that the two countries “have the maturity to address this challenge together” and that the case should not affect good bilateral relations.
The Italian government has paid compensation of $190,000 to each of the families of Selestian Valentine, 45, and Ajesh Pinky, 24, but that has done little to stop the diplomatic row escalating.
Italy has called the detention of the marines illegal and challenged it before India’s Supreme Court.
Rome says the marines should be prosecuted in their home country because the shootings occurred on an Italian-flagged vessel in international waters, but India says they took place in waters under its jurisdiction.
Italy also accused the Indian fishing crew of behaving aggressively and said they were repeatedly warned before shots were fired.
The fishing boat’s owner said the marines fired without provocation.
Latorre and Girone are expected to be moved from prison to a juvenile detention facility in the next few days. The next hearing in the case is due on May 25.
The marines were charged with murder soon after the incident in February. Under Indian law, initial charges are formalised by police after investigation and before a trial can begin.
One of the murder charges carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, but another can be punished by death, though the central government would have to approve that. India has not used the death penalty for several years.
Armed guards are increasingly deployed on cargo ships and tankers in the Indian Ocean to tackle threats from Somali pirates, who often hold ships and crews hostage for months demanding multi-million dollar ransoms.