The Italian government says two marines charged with murdering two Indian fishermen last year will not be sent back to India to stand trial.
India’s Supreme Court last month allowed Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone to return home for four weeks to vote in the country’s general election.
The marines are accused of shooting dead two Indian fishermen in February last year off the coast of Kerala.
They claim they mistook the fishermen for pirates trying to attack the Enrica Lexie, an oil tanker they were guarding.
A diplomatic row erupted between Italy and India following their arrest, with Rome claiming their detention was in breach of international law. The Italians say the incident took place in international waters so they should be tried in Italy.
The Italian government said it officially informed India on Monday that the two marines would not be returning for the trial which was to be held in a special court in Delhi.
India’s Supreme Court in January shifted proceedings away from a Kerala state trial to a federal court in the capital.
India has not yet responded to the decision, but the announcement drew an angry response from the dead fishermen’s families and politicians.
“It is disgraceful that the Italian marines do not respect Indian law,” Dora Selestian, widow of one of the dead fishermen, told ucanews.com.
“The federal government should take action to ensure their return. I’m deeply saddened that my husband won’t get justice even after such a brutal killing,” she said.
Salestian also questioned why the Indian government allowed the marines to go home to vote in an election.
Kerala Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, told ucanews.com that the federal government should have obtained guarantees that the marines would return to India to face trial.
This was the case when Kerala state allowed them to return home for Christmas, he said.
“When the Kerala High Court allowed the marines to return to Italy for Christmas, the state government objected and demanded strict bonds and guarantee from the Italian government. They returned after the holidays,” Chandy said.
Sebastian Paul, a former parliamentarian, lambasted both state and federal governments for allowing the Italian marines to escape.
He said there is nothing India can do if Italy does not want to send their people back.
“No bonds were executed and no sureties were made. It is clear that Italy fooled India,” said Paul.