In what appeared to be a climbdown for Italy and a diplomatic victory of sorts for India, Rome flew back its two marines to New Delhi on Friday, less than a fortnight after the Italian government had declared that the duo would not be returning.
Italy, however, sought to explain its decision to return the two marines — Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone — by saying on Friday that it had got assurances on two counts from the Indian government: one, that they would not be arrested if they returned within the four weeks’ parole given to them by the Supreme Court; and two, that their case would not invite the death penalty as per Indian law.
Commenting on the marines’ return, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he was “happy that the integrity and dignity of the Indian judicial process has been upheld”.
Amidst speculation that a “deal” had been struck on the marines’ return between Rome and New Delhi, external affairs minister Salman Khurshid denied this was so. However, Italian foreign minister Giulio Terzi was reported as having told the Italian daily la Repubblica that Italy would not have been able to buy time for negotiations and got their assurances had it not first threatened to renege on its commitment to return the marines.
Italy has been questioning the jurisdiction of Indian courts over the incident involving the killing of two Kerala fishermen by the Italian marines in February last year; it says it happened in international waters. However, it is for the first time that Italy has raised the issue of “no death penalty” for its marines as a pretext to hold them back.
However, Italian undersecretary of state for foreign affairs Staffan Domingo de Mistura, who met Mr Khurshid on Friday evening, maintained that it was during the marines’ parole that the issue of setting up a special court came up and “that was the moment when the issue of death penalty became a crucial aspect in Italy”.
However, as per Mr Khurshid’s statement in both houses of Parliament on Friday, the Supreme Court had ordered the setting up of a special court in an order on January 18 itself, much before the marines left for Italy.
Mr Mistura did emphasise the need to set up a special court as directed by the top court. “It’s needed, urgently, quickly and expeditiously,” said Mr Mistura, who also demanded that its proceedings should be expedited and that Rome wanted “justice and clarity”.
Mr Khurshid in his statement to Parliament also said India was “informed through a diplomatic approach that the government of Italy would be willing to send the two marines back to India”. However, Rome sought “clarification regarding the conditions applicable to the marines on their return and the provisions regarding the death penalty that could be applicable in this case which was an Italian concern”, said the minister.
He added that notwithstanding the Supreme Court proceedings, India informed Italy that the two marines would not be liable for arrest if they returned within the time frame laid down by the Supreme Court. Rome was also told that “according to well settled Indian jurisprudence, this case would not fall in the category of matters which attract the death penalty, that is to say the rarest of rare cases. Therefore, there need not be any apprehension in this regard,” Mr Khurshid informed Parliament.