The Indian Supreme Court has ordered the closure of all legal proceedings in the country against Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre , the two Maros involved in the death of two Indian fishermen in 2012. The Indian newspaper in English The Hindu reports.
“All judicial proceedings in India against our two maros, Salvatore Girone and Massimiliano Latorre, have been closed. Thanks to those who worked consistently on the case, thanks to our tireless diplomatic corps. This long story is definitely worth a point “, he said. Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio wrote on twitter.
“For 9 years I have been forced to speak on behalf of my husband. He has been explicitly forbidden to speak under severe penalties. He cannot even participate in any public demonstration. He is bound by secrecy. It is time to ask why the military authorities want to keep a secret on what he knows and what he means. What I know is that for Italian politics we have been the meat of the slaughter . Soon Massimiliano will report to the prosecutor in Rome “. Thus Paola Moschetti , wife of Massimiliano Latorre, at ANSA.
” It is interesting to read Minister Di Maio’s thanks to those who worked hard, but first of all it is important to thank the two soldiers who sacrificed themselves to Indian submission for so many years that they will never be returned to them “, Vania Ardito , wife of Marina Salvatore Girone’s rifleman tells ANSA.” Now – he adds – we hope in a quick resolution for the definitive conclusion of the case in Italy “.” We unofficially learned the news – continues the wife of the rifleman – finally a case has been concluded that should have been concluded in nine days but it took more than nine years ” . “We are waiting to receive official news – he concludes – to find out in detail the outcome of the sentence which is still obscure”.
The Indian Supreme Court had postponed the closing of the case on April 19 because the compensation of one hundred million rupees (about 1.1 million euros) that Italy had to pay to the families of the victims had not yet been deposited. During the hearing on April 19, which was chaired by the President of the Court himself – Sharad Arvind Bobde – the Attorney General of the State, Tushar Mehta, declared that “Italy has started the transfer of money”, adding however that the sum was not yet available. On April 9, the Court decided that the case would be closed only after the agreed compensation was filed. The two soldiers were accused of killing two Indian fishermen off the coast of Kerala in 2012: the fusiliers, who were engaged in an anti-piracy mission aboard the Italian commercial ship Enrica Lexie, saw the fishing boat Saint Antony approaching and, fearing an attack by pirates, fired some warning shots into the water. On board the small boat, however, the two fishermen Ajeesh Pink and Valentine Jelastine died, and the owner of the fishing boat, Freddy Bosco, was injured. After a long dispute, in July 2020 the international court in The Hague, which had recognized “functional immunity” to riflemen, had established that jurisdiction over the case rested with Italy and had ordered compensation to the families of the victims. a few warning shots were fired into the water. On board the small boat, however, the two fishermen Ajeesh Pink and Valentine Jelastine died, and the owner of the fishing boat, Freddy Bosco, was injured. After a long dispute, in July 2020 the international court in The Hague, which had recognized “functional immunity” to riflemen, had established that jurisdiction over the case rested with Italy and had ordered compensation to the families of the victims. a few warning shots were fired into the water. On board the small boat, however, the two fishermen Ajeesh Pink and Valentine Jelastine died, and the owner of the fishing boat, Freddy Bosco, was injured. After a long dispute, in July 2020 the international court in The Hague, which had recognized “functional immunity” to riflemen, had established that jurisdiction over the case rested with Italy and had ordered compensation to the families of the victims.The two Italian maros will be heard in the next few weeks in the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Rome . For this affair in piazzale Clodio, proceedings have been open for nine years. The procedure is entrusted to the deputy prosecutor Erminio Amelio, who in recent months has analyzed the documents sent by the International Court of The Hague – which in July 2020 decided the jurisdiction in favor of Italy – and then proceeded to conclude the investigations that it could arrive in the summer.
“Massimiliano has always been denied the opportunity to tell his truth and his version of events, but soon Massimiliano will be able to be heard by the prosecutors of the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office, in whom we have the utmost confidence, and there will be no military secret he keeps“, the lawyer Fabio Anselmo, lawyer of the rifleman Latorre, explained to ANSA.
