Italian Defence Minister
Roberta Pinotti said Wednesday that the stroke-like attack
suffered at the weekend by one of two Italian marines being held
in India showed the situation was "untenable".
Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre, who have been
held in India since 2012, are accused of killing two India
fishermen during an anti-piracy mission.
Doctors said Wednesday that Latorre is making
"satisfactory" progress after the minor transient ischemic
attack (TIA) he suffered Sunday.
"The attack makes it even more clear that the situation of
the two marines is untenable," Pinotti told a joint session of
the Lower House and Senate foreign affairs and defence
committees.
Premier Matteo Renzi said Wednesday he had discussed the
case with Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi and would be
talking to him again.
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 took the
death penalty off the table and dropped 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 in 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.
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