A special tribunal established in New Delhi to try two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen postponed its hearing to August 25, pending a Supreme Court hearing on July 14 regarding an appeal filed by the servicemen, ANSA learned on Wednesday.
Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone appealed to the Indian Supreme Court against the use of India's NIA anti-terrorism police to probe the case involving the shooting deaths of two fishermen who they allegedly mistook for pirates during an international anti-piracy mission in February 2012.
The special tribunal has yet to bring charges against the marines due to the pending Supreme Court appeal and long delays involved in that process.
Just last week the Supreme Court postponed the marines' hearing to the new July 14 date, just one day before Latorre is due to return to India from Italy, where he has been receiving medical treatment after suffering a stroke last summer and undergoing heart surgery in January.
Last Friday, Italy informed India of its request to use an international arbiter to find an end to the 40-month legal stand-off, a request which Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said Indian government lawyers "are examining".
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