DTN News - INDIA NEWS: Indian Fishermen Shot By Italian Marines Mistook For Pirates At Sea Off Coast of Kerala
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - February 25, 2012: India detained Italian marines for shooting two Indian fishermen to death in Kochi, India, Sunday, Feb. 19, 2012. Latorre Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, members of the navy security team (marines) of Napoli registered Italian merchant vessel Enrica Lexie, are taken for interrogation by the Indian police in the southern Indian city of Kochi February 19, 2012.
Two fishermen were killed when a navy security team (marines) on an Italian merchant vessel opened fire on a boat it mistook for pirates at sea off the coast of Kerala, officials said on Thursday. A case of murder has been registered against the crew, said a senior official at Neendakara Coastal police station, where surviving fishermen sought help.
Italy Asks for marines’ Release.
Italian diplomats on Thursday asked a court to release two Italian marines charged with killing two Indian fishermen. The Indian police say the marines shot at an unarmed fishing boat last week as the oil tanker they were on, the Enrica Lexie, passed the Indian coast. Italian diplomats say the marines, who were acting as guards on the Italian-flagged merchant ship, fired only warning shots and did so in international waters. Indian officials have said the dead fishermen are Indian, which gives them jurisdiction to prosecute the case.
