This Article is From Jan 14, 2015

Supreme Court Grants Murder Accused Italian Marine Three More Months at Home

Supreme Court Grants Murder Accused Italian Marine Three More Months at Home

File photo of Italian marines Salvatore Girone (left) and Massimiliano Latorre. (Reuters photo)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today granted an Italian marine's request for extended medical leave before he and a fellow marine face charges over the 2012 shooting of two Indian fishermen.

Massimiliano Latorre had asked the Supreme Court to allow him to stay longer in Italy after he suffered a stroke while detained in India and was allowed to go home for medical treatment. The court on Wednesday approved a three-month extension.

Latorre and Salvatore Girone are expected to be charged in the killing of two fishermen, when the marines were assigned to anti-piracy duty aboard Italian cargo ship Enrica Lexie off the coast of Kerala.

The case has sparked a diplomatic uproar between India and Italy, which has also said the fishermen were mistaken for pirates.

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