Defence meets marines in India, hopes for New Delhi deal

Pinotti stops in New Delhi following Afghanistan trip

(ANSA) - Rome, August 5 - Italian Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti met Tuesday with the two Italian marines being held in India after the shooting deaths of two fishermen during an anti-piracy mission in 2012. Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone are living at the Italian embassy in New Delhi.

Pinotti told that the meeting was "of a private nature and was motivated by desire to demonstrate the Italian government's solidarity with the two marines". The next court hearing in the marines' case is scheduled for mid-October, after a delay due to illness on the part of the judge forced a postponement last week. Rome has started to seek international arbitration in the case, while continuing dialogue with the Indian authorities. "The possibility of an agreement between the two governments would be the most desirable element to resolve the affair," said Pinotti.

Latorre and Girone are accused of killing fishermen Valentine (aka Gelastine) and Ajesh Binki after allegedly mistaking them for pirates and opening fire on their fishing trawler while guarding the privately owned Italian-flagged oil-tanker MT Enrica Lexie off the coast of Kerala on February 15, 2012. Rome has protested a long series of delays in the case, which has caused major diplomatic friction between the countries. It successfully fought to ensure New Delhi take the death penalty off the table and drop the application of a severe anti-terrorism, anti-piracy law, which it said would have equated Italy with a terrorist state.

Rome argues the case is not India's jurisdiction as the incident took place outside the country's territorial waters. It also says the marines should be exempt from prosecution in India, because they are servicemen who were working on an anti-piracy mission, and allowed to return home.