india

Updated: Jul 09, 2019 07:28 IST

An international arbitration court opened two weeks of hearings Monday on Italy’s request to have India end the criminal prosecution of two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012, an incident that led to a break in the countries’ relations.

The Italian representative to the Netherlands-based court, Ambassador Francesco Azzarello, alleged that India had shown prejudice in the case by disregarding the presumption of innocence principle and argued that Italy should have legal jurisdiction because the case involves active-duty servicemen.

Azzarello also alleged there have been “inexcusable delays” in the proceedings involving the Italian marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, saying that by the time the arbitration is completed the two “will have been subject to various degrees of deprivation of liberty without any lawful charges for over eight years.” The Indian fishermen were shot and killed in international waters off India that were known for pirate activity. Italy claims the marines fired warning shots into the water to deter a small boat that was on a collision course with an oil tanker they were assigned to protect. Azzarello said the skiff was “seconds from a collision.”

India disputes that the Italian shots were fired in warning and emphasized that the fishing boat was legally operating in India’s economic zone. “It is difficult to believe that these volleys were simply meant as warning shots as alleged by Italy,” said G Balasubramanian, New Delhi’s representative to the Permanent Court of Arbitration. “They hit two crew members, caused damage to the boat, endangering its safe navigation, and also endangering the lives of the other nine crew members.” The Italian ambassador argued otherwise Monday. He said Italy’s “prompt assertions” of jurisdiction “were swept aside by reference to India’s domestic law, which purported to give the Indian authorities penal jurisdiction beyond its territory.”