Italy to pay 1.1mn over killing of Indian fishermen by two of their marines in 2012
New Delhi, India - India will accept compensation of € 1.1mn from Italy for the families of two fishermen shot dead by Italian marines in 2012, signalling an end to a long-winding case that soured relations between the two nations.
Suhail Dutt, an advocate representing Italy, told India’s Supreme Court on Friday that after prolonged negotiations with the Indian government, Rome was ready to pay R100mn to the families of the fishermen and the owner of the boat which was damaged in the shooting.
India’s solicitor general
Tushar Mehta said the victims’ families have agreed to receive the ‘determined compensation amount’.
The bench asked the Indian government to deposit the money with the court within a week of receiving it from its Italian counterpart, according to the order. The case will be next taken up on April 19.
The latest order comes after The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague announced last July that the two marines were entitled to immunity from prosecution.
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 coast of Kerala. Italy took the issue to the PCA in 2015, saying that the tribunal should hear the case under maritime law.
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.
The panel ruled 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 boat, called the St Antony.