By Alessandra Cardone
ROME, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Italy announced on Wednesday it was ready to recall its ambassador to India, a day after the Indian Supreme Court rejected travel appeals by two Italian marines held in New Delhi on murder charges.
"The Italian government is ready to take all necessary steps with regard to the marines detained in India, up to the recall of our ambassador in New Delhi for consultations," Italy's Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in a hearing before the joint parliamentary commission for Foreign Affairs and Defence.
According to Gentiloni, "fundamental principles of international sovereignty" would be at stake in the case and Italy would be obliged to react to India's latest decision.
"We are disappointed and angered by the Indian Supreme Court's decision. Our demands were humanitarian, and we were expecting a different result," Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti also declared to the same commission on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, India's top court turned down the travel applications of the two navy officers, Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre, who were arrested in 2012 under suspicion of killing two Indian fishermen during an international anti-piracy mission off the Kerala coast.
Latorre had been allowed to return to Italy in September for medical treatment after a stroke. His plea for extending his stay for another two months to receive a heart surgery and complete his rehabilitation was denied.
The Indian Court also rejected Girone's request to travel back home for Christmas holidays. Both navy officers are currently on bail pending trial, with Girone being hosted in the Italian embassy in New Delhi.
At the hearing on Wednesday, Italy's defence minister stressed Latorre's recovery was a priority for the government and nothing would be done to jeopardize his situation.
"I am perfectly aware of Latorre's health and there are no conditions for him to leave Italy. This is not an act of defiance or a will to fight, but the calm and firm acknowledgment of a situation," Pinotti said.
The defence minister added the two marines were on duty as Italian state officers when they were arrested, and Italy has a responsibility over them.
"It would also be in the interest of India, which has many troops involved in international missions, to recognize and support the immunity of our marines before the Indian court," she added.
Italian president Giorgio Napolitano had already expressed his "strong annoyance" at the Supreme Court's decision, in a statement released late on Tuesday.
Latorre and Girone were arrested in February 2012 after being accused of killing two Indian fishermen. They were guarding an Italian oil cargo, and opened fire on a fishing boat approaching the ship.
The marines alleged they had mistaken the boat for a pirate vessel and admitted opening fire, but denied killing the fishermen. Italian authorities also maintained New Delhi has no jurisdiction over Italian soldiers officially deployed abroad.
India said the incident occurred in its waters and firstly invoked the anti-terrorism and anti-piracy law to prosecute the marines, yet ruling out the possibility of a death penalty. It later dropped the terrorism charges.
The latest development in the case brought about a reaction from the European Union (EU). "The decision to deny the pleas (of Latorre and Girone)... is disappointing, as a long awaited mutually agreed solution has not yet proved possible," EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini said in a statement on Tuesday night.
"The issue has the potential to impact the overall European Union-India relations and also a bearing on the global fight against piracy, to which the EU is strongly committed," the statement said.
http://ift.tt/pF5m6k/dispatch/news/xinhua-news-agency/141217/roundup-italy-says-ready-recall-ambassador-india-over-marine
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