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Italy steps up push to free marines held in India

Indian authorities on Sunday arrested the two marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, in the southern coastal town of Kochi for the alleged shooting of two local fisherman.

The marines were part of a security detachment assigned to protect the Italian merchant vessel Enrica Lexie from piracy. In a disputed incident on Wednesday, they fired what they described as warning shots towards a fishing vessel whose approach was “clearly hostile, typical of pirates,” the Italian navy said.

But that account is disputed by India, and the two countries’ failure to reach consensus has triggered a serious diplomatic dispute.

Undersecretary for foreign affairs Staffan De Mistura left for India on Tuesday and Terzi will be in New Delhi in a week’s time, according to a statement from the Italian foreign ministry.

Italy says the marines only fired into the water but Indian authorities say two men on the fishing boat were shot dead.

Italy said on Monday it should be the one investigating the allegations since the incident occurred in international waters. India’s actions undermined international efforts to combat maritime piracy, Terzi added on Tuesday.

“We don’t want to see a multilateral, international commitment to fight piracy dramatically undone by episodes like this one,” Terzi told reporters at the ministry.

Italy began assigning military teams to protect its merchant vessels in the Indian Ocean last year after a series of attacks by Somali pirates on Italian ships.

Pirates operating in small fishing vessels and fast motorboats have hijacked dozens of vessels in the region over recent years, extracting millions of dollars in ransom.