Murder-accused marine Massimiliano Latorre won't return to India, says Italian Senator

NEW DELHI: Massimiliano Latorre, one of the two Italian marines accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012 off the Kerala coast, will not return to India, according to the Head of Italian Senate’s defence committee.

Latorre was allowed by the Supreme Court in September 2014 to go to Italy initially for four months after he had suffered a brain stroke. His stay there was extended subsequently.

“Massimiliano Latorre will not go back to India and work is being done on the possibility of requesting for Salvatore Girone to be able to return to Italy,” Senator Nicola Latorre was quoted as saying by Italy’s ANSA news agency on Tuesday. Salvatore Girone, the other accused, is still here and Italy has been seeking his return as well. The SC on July 13 last year had allowed Latorre to stay in Italy for another six months on medical grounds, after the government did not object to his plea. The sixmonth period ends on Wednesday. The matter may come up for hearing in the SC on Wednesday.

The marines, who were on board ship ‘Enrica Lexie’, are accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the Kerala coast on February 15, 2012, after mistaking them for pirates. The SC that was handling the case suspended the court proceedings relating to the trial of two marines in August last year following an order to this effect by International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.