Italian marines ‘entitled to immunity’ in India shooting: tribunal

Two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012 were entitled to immunity from prosecution, a tribunal ruled Thursday in a case that poisoned ties between the two countries.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague said it had decided by three votes to two “that the Marines are entitled to immunity in relation to the acts that they committed during the incident”.

Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre spent years facing charges in India for shooting the fishermen when their boat neared the Italian oil tanker MV Enrica Lexie off the Kerala coast.

Italy took the issue to the PCA in 2015, saying that the tribunal should hear the case under maritime law as the incident happened in international waters off India’s southern coast.

Italy argued that the marines were stationed on the tanker because the region was prone to piracy, and said they had fired on the fishing boat because it failed to heed warnings to stay away.

But New Delhi insisted that the two marines — one of whom was allowed home in 2014 for medical reasons and the other in 2016 — should both return to India for a final judgement by an Indian court.

A five-member panel chaired by Russian judge Vladimir Golitsyn however handed down a ruling on May 20 — but only announced Thursday — saying that “India is precluded from exercising its jurisdiction over the Marines.”

The tribunal noted Italy has said it would continue a criminal investigation into the Enrica Lexie incident and that India “must take the necessary steps to cease to exercise its criminal jurisdiction over the Marines, and that no other remedies are required.”

– India entitled to compensation –

But the panel however did find that India was entitled to compensation for “loss of life, physical harm, material damage to property and moral harm suffered by the captain and other crew members” of the Indian boat, called the St. Antony.

Rome and New Delhi were invited to consult over the amount to be paid to India, with the PCA pointing out it retained its jurisdiction should any of the parties “wish to apply for a ruling from the Arbitral Tribunal.”

Latorre was allowed to return to Italy in 2014 after suffering a stroke. Girone was permitted to do the same in 2016 after living in Italy’s embassy in Delhi for four years.

The detention of the marines, the murder charges and the long wait for the case to be resolved remain sore subjects in Italy.

In December 2014 Rome threatened to withdraw its ambassador from India after a court rejected Latorre’s original request for medical leave.

Set up in 1899, the PCA is the world’s oldest court of arbitration. It resolves disputes between countries and private parties by referring to contracts, special agreements and various treaties, such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.