A team of experts in international
law have begun work on the case of two Italian marines detained
in India for over two years pending trial after allegedly
murdering two Indian fishermen during an international
anti-piracy mission, Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini
said Tuesday.
The group led by barrister Daniel Bethlehem, a former legal
advider to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has been
tasked with "following the new phase of internationalisation" of
the case involving Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone,
who have been held in New Delhi under mobility restrictions
after allegedly shooting dead fishermen Valentine (aka
Gelastine) and Ajesh Binki aboard their trawler during an
anti-piracy mission in February 2012.
Last month the Italian government announced it was opening
a "new phase" in the saga, replacing its special envoy on the
case and sending its ambassador back to New Delhi to help steer
the case towards arbitration by an international organisation
such as the UN.
"The inauguration of the new government (in India) does not
mean that we will change our position regarding the fact that
India does not have jurisdiction in the case," added Mogherini,
insisting that the two naval fusiliers were "covered by
international immunity" at the time of the shooting.
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