Italian Ship Fires On Indian Fishing Boat, 2 TN fishermen dead

Status
Not open for further replies.

KS

Bye bye DFI
Senior Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2010
Messages
8,005
Likes
5,758
Keralan state officials maintained the marines would be tried under Indian law.
Oh..what has the standard of BBC come to ? Keralan ? WTF..
 

nrj

Ambassador
Joined
Nov 16, 2009
Messages
9,658
Likes
3,911
Country flag
No bail for Italian sailors in India despite envoy protest

A court denied bail on Saturday to two Italian sailors charged with the murder at sea of two Indian fishermen they mistook for pirates, hours after Rome recalled its ambassador to New Delhi in an increasingly surly diplomatic row.

The court rejected the bail pleas on grounds the two men might try to escape, said a public prosecutor in Kerala, where the men are detained.

"The judge accepted the prosecution's apprehension that the accused may escape from the country and tamper with the evidence," D. Mohanraj, a prosecutor handling the case, told Reuters. A lawyer for the defence said they would appeal.

India says the case of marines Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone is a matter for the courts and cannot be influenced by political or diplomatic pressure. Italy wants the men tried at home and says the government should intervene.

The row has strained ties and Italy called back its ambassador for consultations shortly after murder charges were formalised on Friday to express "profound displeasure" with the Indian government's handling of the case.

"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 told Reuters from 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 U.N. 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."

PIRATE ATTACKS

The two sailors were stationed on a merchant ship passing the southern Indian coast and were tasked with protecting it from pirate attacks. They fired warning shots at the fishing boat on February 15, believing it to be a pirate vessel, they said.

Investigators say the fishing boat was unarmed and the shots killed the two fishermen, who were part of a larger crew.

Italy says the incident occurred in international waters and that jurisdiction over the marines should lie with Rome. In April, it paid $190,000 to each of the victims families as compensation. In return, the families dropped their cases against the marines, but the state's case continues.

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, Kerala's deputy public prosecutor said on Friday.

Attacks on ships have increased in the eastern side of the Arabian Sea, as better security around the Horn of Africa has pushed Somali pirates to make raids as far over as the Maldives. The waters close to India are generally considered safer.

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.
No bail for Italian sailors in India despite envoy protest | Reuters
 

nrj

Ambassador
Joined
Nov 16, 2009
Messages
9,658
Likes
3,911
Country flag
Italy says envoy recall signals "strong displeasure" with India

Italy's recall of its envoy from New Delhi is aimed at signalling its "strong displeasure" with the Indian government's handling of a case involving two Italian sailors charged with murder, a top Italian official said on Saturday.

The ambassador's recall on Friday escalated an increasingly tense diplomatic spat between Italy and India. The two marines, members of a military security team protecting a merchant vessel, were formally charged hours earlier in connection with the shooting of two Indian fishermen in February.
The sailors, who have been held in the southern Indian state of Kerala, are due to appear in court on Saturday for a bail hearing.

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, said the decision to recall the ambassador followed a flurry of failed diplomatic efforts.

It came 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, he told Reuters from Kerala.

It also followed the "absurd accusation of premeditated murder", De Mistura said.

"It is a signal of profound displeasure," he said.


Italy argues that jurisdiction over the marines should lie with Rome because the incident occurred in international waters, but the Indian government maintains that it is a matter for the courts and that it does not have the authority to intervene.

Asked whether the case had damaged Italian-Indian ties, De Mistura said: "We are sending a strong signal to avoid damaging our relationship."

India's foreign ministry played down the recall, saying it did not indicate relations had soured.

The two sailors were stationed on a merchant ship off the southern Indian coast tasked with protecting it from pirate attacks. They fired warning shots at a fishing boat on Feb. 15, believing it to be a pirate vessel, they said.

The marines were charged with murder shortly after the incident in February. Under Indian law, initial charges are formalised by police after investigation and before a trial can begin. A hearing to select a date for the trial is scheduled for May 25, Kerala's deputy public prosecutor said on Friday.

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.

Italy says envoy recall signals "strong displeasure" with India - Hindustan Times
 

Welcome

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2010
Messages
197
Likes
68
Country flag
Italy calls back ambassador to India for "consultations"

NEW DELHI/ROME: Italy on Friday called back its ambassador to India for "consultations" after a charge sheet for murder was filed against two Italian naval guards in the killing of two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast three months back.

Official sources in New Delhi confirmed that Italian envoy Giacomo Sanfelice di Monteforte has been called back by his government for "consultations".

The decision came on a day when Kerala police filed a charge sheet accusing the two Italians -- Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone -- of murder before the chief judicial magistrate in Kollam (Kerala).

The naval guards on board the Italian ship 'Enrica Lexie' had allegedly shot dead two Indian fishermen -- Valentine Jalastine and Ajesh Bi -- on February 15, apparently mistaking them for pirates.

In Rome, the Italian foreign ministry in a statement said "In the light of the developments in the situation in Kerala and the charges against the two Italian servicemen, Latore Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, the Italian ambassador to New Delhi, Giacomo Sanfelice has been recalled to Rome for consultations with the Government".

Italy insists that since the incident occurred in international waters, the naval guards should be tried in Italian courts rather than Indian courts.

Sources stressed that to be more engaged is always helpful than withdrawing the diplomat from New Delhi.

Italian deputy foreign minister Staffan De Mistura, currently in India, met the naval guards on Thursday, expressed concern over the lengthy trial in India.

He described the killing of the fishermen as "accidental" and insisted that Indian courts did not have jurisdiction over the incident.


Italy calls back ambassador to India for "consultations" - The Times of India
 

Razor

STABLE GENIUS
Senior Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2011
Messages
7,701
Likes
9,099
Country flag
Oh..what has the standard of BBC come to ? Keralan ? WTF..
Dude, this is the BBC. Many a time, I have found BBC, the bastion of Queen's English making grammar mistakes. This is trivial in comparison. The correct usage should have been "Kerala State Officials".
 

Adux

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
Messages
4,022
Likes
1,707
Country flag
such a childish remark :rolleyes: paper money is never worth more than human life
You do know, that people are already 'dead' here. Its past tense. Nobody can bring them back. Then might as well take the money, especially when you are dirt poor.
 

SPIEZ

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2011
Messages
3,508
Likes
1,021
Country flag
Off topic, but what gun was used to kill the fishermen?
 

LurkerBaba

Super Mod
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
7,882
Likes
8,125
Country flag
x-posting

Ferrari continued to insist on Friday night that they were not trying to make a political statement as their decision to carry the flag of the Italian navy on their cars in India this weekend threatened to escalate into a serious diplomatic incident.

Two members of the Italian navy's vessel protection department are awaiting trial following the fatal shootings of two Indian fishermen in February.

Political statements are forbidden in Formula One, but Ferrari decided to sport the flags "in the hope that the Indian and Italian authorities will soon find a solution to the situation".

Indian GP: Ferrari Italian navy flag sparks anger - Sport - DNA
 

W.G.Ewald

Defence Professionals/ DFI member of 2
Professional
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
Messages
14,139
Likes
8,594
"We just wanted to pay tribute to all the Italian navy which is one of the excellence of Italy," he said. "It's just a sign of hope that a solution can be found about the case that involves two Italian sailors.
Unnecessary and provocative if the Italian Navy is not a sponsor of Team Ferrari.
 

mikhail

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2011
Messages
1,438
Likes
1,189
Country flag
why is it that the International F1 Association hasn't imposed a fine yet on the Ferrari F1 team!they can do literally anything in a foreign country and get away with it but if it were us then these same people would have done everything within their reach to punish us!God i hate this kind of racial discrimination in this 21st century:frusty:!
 

LurkerBaba

Super Mod
Joined
Jul 2, 2010
Messages
7,882
Likes
8,125
Country flag
x-post :facepalm:

The Kerala High Court on Thursday permitted the two Italian marines, accused of shooting two fishermen off Kerala coast, to visit their homes for Christmas provided the Centre accept the Italy's undertaking.

Italian Ambassador had given an undertaking that it would ensure the marines return to India.

Strongly opposing the plea of the marines, T. Asaf Ali, Director General of Prosecution appearing for the state government had submitted that they would not come back to face the trial once they were allowed to go home. He argued that the undertakings placed before the court by the Italian Ambassador and Consul General that the marines would be brought back were not bona fide. The state submitted that they were trying to take the accused out of the country under the pretext of celebrating Christmas. Once they reach Italy, they would be arrested and put behind bars for a crime registered in Italy on the same charge, rendering invalid the undertakings.

However, the counsel for the Italy assured the court that it would ensure that the Marines were brought back to India after Christmas.

The Hindu : States / Kerala : Italian marines can go home for Christmas: Kerala HC
 

nrj

Ambassador
Joined
Nov 16, 2009
Messages
9,658
Likes
3,911
Country flag
HC has given permission to Italian Sailors to spend Christmas in Italy


Word is that they may not come back :sad:
 

sayareakd

Mod
Joined
Feb 17, 2009
Messages
17,734
Likes
18,951
Country flag
then those who have given undertaking will be put in Jail for contempt of Court.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest Replies

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top