India boat shooting jurisdiction ruling 'in a week' Judge puts off decision
An Indian judge will take another week to rule whether India or Italy have jurisdiction in the case of two anti-pirate Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen, judicial sources said Tuesday.
Italy says it should have jurisdiction for the case, not India, as the soldiers were guarding an Italian merchant vessel in international waters.
The Italian government also believes that, regardless of who has jurisdiction, the marines should be exempt from prosecution in India as they were military personnel working on an anti-piracy mission.
Italy has said the marines fired warning shots from the merchant ship they were guarding, the Enrica Lexie, after coming under attack from pirates.
It said they followed the proper international procedures for dealing with pirate attacks, which are frequent in the Indian Ocean.
The Indian authorities, on the other hand, said the marines failed to show sufficient "restraint" by opening fire after mistaking the fishermen for pirates.
On Monday the magistrate ordered the marines to stay in prison for two more weeks.
Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who have been at the centre of a diplomatic row between the countries since being detained last month, were sent back to a jail in the city of Thiruvananthapuram.
Sono bellissimo...
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