A judge in Rome on Monday dismissed the murder investigation against two marines who killed two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast in 2012.
The two marines, Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre, were deployed on the Enrica Lexie, an oil tanker, as part of anti-piracy measures. They opened fire on an Indian fishing vessel in India's exclusive economic zone, assuming it to be a pirate threat. The incident led to a diplomatic crisis between India and Italy after the marines were arrested by India.
India's Supreme Court closed the case against the two marines in June last year after Italy paid compensation of Rs 10 crore to the next of kin of the deceased fishermen and the owner of the fishing vessel that was targeted.
According to reports, the judge in Rome dismissed the case following an assessment by prosecutors last month that there was not enough evidence for a trial. Italian Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini welcomed the decision as a “positive outcome”. He was quoted by AFP as saying, “This brings to an end a years-long event during which the defence ministry has never left the two marines and their families on their own.”
When closing the case in India, the Supreme Court had said India must provide evidence for criminal proceedings against the two marines in Italy. Italy had approached the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 2015 over the issue. The tribunal ruled in 2020 that the marines were entitled to immunity and that Italy, not India, had jurisdiction to prosecute them.
