Italy will prosecute marines who killed two Indian fishermen: SC

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the Italian government will prosecute the two Italian Marines, who had gunned down two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in February 2012, as per international arbitral award.

The apex court further said that it will pass an order regarding disbursal of the Rs 10 crore compensation paid by the Italian government to the family of the fishermen on June 15.

The compensation is a mutually agreed amount between India and Italy in terms of the award by an international tribunal. The Supreme Court had earlier said that Rs 4 crore each out of the compensation will go to the next of kin of the two fishermen while Rs 2 crore will be given to the owner of the fishing vessel in which they were travelling.

On February 15, 2012, two Indian fishermen returning from a fishing expedition near Lakshadweep islands onboard fishing vessel St Antony were gunned down by two Italian marines on board oil tanker Enrica Lexie. The incident occurred around 20 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala. Shortly after the incident, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted Enrica Lexie and detained the two Italian marines— Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre.