On February 15, 2012, Italian Navy marines on board the Enrica Lexie, an Italian-flagged oil-tanker, opened fire on an Indian fishing boat off the coast of Kerala after mistaking the passengers for pirates, killing two men on board. Following the incident, the Indian Coast Guard intercepted the Italian vessel and ordered it to dock at Kochi. Thus began a two-year long saga riddled with judicial failures, questionable leverage for Rome offered by the Indian government, and the juvenile level of diplomacy by both countries that would have ashamed both Chanakya and Machiavelli.
Marines Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone face prosecution with a maximum penalty of death under Indian law. While Italy insists that the trial should be conducted in an international court because the incident took place in international waters, New Delhi maintains that the shooting took place in Indian territorial waters. However, the Indian government has remained at sea in deciding under which law to prosecute the accused. It has yet to announce whether it is charging the Italians under the Suppression of Unlawful Act against Safety of Maritime Navigation Act or the provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The Supreme Court has given the Indian government an ultimatum to decide by today, February 24, under which law Latorre and Girone are to be booked.
This mismanagement of this case brings up larger questions that must be addressed with the expanding presence of the international community in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, as the world collectively tackles the menace of sea-piracy, which has grown drastically over the past few years. With the number of armed guards being stationed on private ships growing, a move that India has protested against at various international platforms, incidents such as this one are likely to reoccur.
As tensions rise between India and Italy, the Indian embassy in Rome has reportedly received hate mail and even a live bullet. Last week, Italy recalled its ambassador to India for consultations and summoned the Indian ambassador to lodge a complaint over the slow progress of the case.
During the process of mishandling this case over the past two years, the Indian courts even allowed the marines to go back to Italy on two separate occasions, once in December 2012 to celebrate Christmas with their families and then last February to cast their votes in the country’s elections. During their second trip, the Italian government indicated that it would be possible that the marines would not return, even though they were sent away on a sovereign guarantee. This prompted Delhi to bar the Italian ambassador from leaving the country.
A few weeks later, via back-room diplomacy, both governments came to an agreement and the marines returned to India. During this time, the Indian government was also facing tough questions domestically. Submerged in various allegations of corruption, this Italian link only provided fodder for the opposition parties with questions refreshed on the Bofors scandal and the role of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi had allegedly played in bribing senior Congress politicians, including former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, to purchase guns for the army. The fact that the leader of the Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, is of Italian ancestry did not help the government’s case. The marines being allowed to leave the country brought sharp criticism for the Congress Party, considering that not many countries in the world send those accused of serious criminal charges abroad for holidays.
The European Union, which has put its weight behind Italy, has applied additional pressure on India to quicken the process . On Febrary 14, visitng German President Joachim Gauck said, “Our societies may be different but recognition of the universal nature of human rights issues is extremely important to both our peoples.”
However, India has also correctly delegated some blame towards the Italians, who are failing to provide four witnesses from the Enrica Lexie. The Italian government has refused the Indian courts access to these witnesses. “The only delay may result from Italian witnesses who are not in India and have to testify,” India’s Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said last year. “Much will depend on the timing of lawyers (the Italian part) in presenting the witnesses."
Earlier this month, the Union Home Ministry decided to drop the death penalty clause against Latorre and Girone. This came as a big relief for Rome and the European Union, which abolished such sentences and actively try to dissuade countries from indulging in such forms of justice.
However, it is for the Indian courts to decide the outcome in accordance with the law under which the Indian government wants the marines to be tried. If they are indeed tried under the anti-piracy laws, it is only the courts that can decide whether the accused men will get the maximum sentence of death or not, rendering the government’s assurance to Italy meaningless. If the government prosecutes them under different laws, it is possible that the final outcome may not do justice to the families of the two fishermen killed.
As the case proceeds, New Delhi should work towards creating channels of negotiation between various countries that handle anti-piracy cases in accordance with global legal standards, taking into account issues such as the death penalty. However, if the Indian government wants to stay firmly behind its current legal choices, it needs to put conviction behind the decisions it has made and expedite such cases so as to avoid converting them into global spectacles of ineptness.
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Marines Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone face prosecution with a maximum penalty of death under Indian law. While Italy insists that the trial should be conducted in an international court because the incident took place in international waters, New Delhi maintains that the shooting took place in Indian territorial waters. However, the Indian government has remained at sea in deciding under which law to prosecute the accused. It has yet to announce whether it is charging the Italians under the Suppression of Unlawful Act against Safety of Maritime Navigation Act or the provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The Supreme Court has given the Indian government an ultimatum to decide by today, February 24, under which law Latorre and Girone are to be booked.
This mismanagement of this case brings up larger questions that must be addressed with the expanding presence of the international community in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean, as the world collectively tackles the menace of sea-piracy, which has grown drastically over the past few years. With the number of armed guards being stationed on private ships growing, a move that India has protested against at various international platforms, incidents such as this one are likely to reoccur.
As tensions rise between India and Italy, the Indian embassy in Rome has reportedly received hate mail and even a live bullet. Last week, Italy recalled its ambassador to India for consultations and summoned the Indian ambassador to lodge a complaint over the slow progress of the case.
During the process of mishandling this case over the past two years, the Indian courts even allowed the marines to go back to Italy on two separate occasions, once in December 2012 to celebrate Christmas with their families and then last February to cast their votes in the country’s elections. During their second trip, the Italian government indicated that it would be possible that the marines would not return, even though they were sent away on a sovereign guarantee. This prompted Delhi to bar the Italian ambassador from leaving the country.
A few weeks later, via back-room diplomacy, both governments came to an agreement and the marines returned to India. During this time, the Indian government was also facing tough questions domestically. Submerged in various allegations of corruption, this Italian link only provided fodder for the opposition parties with questions refreshed on the Bofors scandal and the role of Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi had allegedly played in bribing senior Congress politicians, including former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, to purchase guns for the army. The fact that the leader of the Congress Party, Sonia Gandhi, is of Italian ancestry did not help the government’s case. The marines being allowed to leave the country brought sharp criticism for the Congress Party, considering that not many countries in the world send those accused of serious criminal charges abroad for holidays.
The European Union, which has put its weight behind Italy, has applied additional pressure on India to quicken the process . On Febrary 14, visitng German President Joachim Gauck said, “Our societies may be different but recognition of the universal nature of human rights issues is extremely important to both our peoples.”
However, India has also correctly delegated some blame towards the Italians, who are failing to provide four witnesses from the Enrica Lexie. The Italian government has refused the Indian courts access to these witnesses. “The only delay may result from Italian witnesses who are not in India and have to testify,” India’s Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid said last year. “Much will depend on the timing of lawyers (the Italian part) in presenting the witnesses."
Earlier this month, the Union Home Ministry decided to drop the death penalty clause against Latorre and Girone. This came as a big relief for Rome and the European Union, which abolished such sentences and actively try to dissuade countries from indulging in such forms of justice.
However, it is for the Indian courts to decide the outcome in accordance with the law under which the Indian government wants the marines to be tried. If they are indeed tried under the anti-piracy laws, it is only the courts that can decide whether the accused men will get the maximum sentence of death or not, rendering the government’s assurance to Italy meaningless. If the government prosecutes them under different laws, it is possible that the final outcome may not do justice to the families of the two fishermen killed.
As the case proceeds, New Delhi should work towards creating channels of negotiation between various countries that handle anti-piracy cases in accordance with global legal standards, taking into account issues such as the death penalty. However, if the Indian government wants to stay firmly behind its current legal choices, it needs to put conviction behind the decisions it has made and expedite such cases so as to avoid converting them into global spectacles of ineptness.
