India assures Italy there will be no death penalty for the duo

The Italian government has said it will return to India two marines facing murder charges in the shooting deaths of two fishermen off the Kerala coast.

The announcement on Thursday reversed an earlier decision by the Foreign Ministry that the duo >would not return on Friday (March 22), as agreed, after they were granted permission to return home to vote in the Italian elections.

The case escalated tensions between India and Italy. The Indian Supreme Court announced that the > Italian Ambassador could not leave the country.

Special Correspondent reports:

According to Italian news agency ANSA, which quoted Italy’s deputy foreign minister Steffan de Mistura, the breakthrough came after the Indian government assured the Italian authorities there would be no death penalty against the two marines.

The Italian government also obtained a written assurance from the government that the fundamental rights of the two marines would be protected.