Italian Marines, India, and an agreement

Did India come under pressure from Italy and ratified a pact to let off Italian marines being tried in Indian court for allegedly murdering two Kerala fishermen in 2012?

A news report in The Indian Express on February 12, 2013 points to that possibility. According to the report:

The two Italian marines being tried for the alleged murder of two Kerala fishermen last year would have the option, if convicted, of serving their sentence in their home country, thanks to a recent agreement between India and Italy allowing the repatriation of their nationals lodged in the jails of the other country.

An agreement on transfer of sentenced prisoners between India and Italy became operational on December 17 last year following its ratification by both the countries….

………..The agreement with Italy was signed in January last year, about a month before the incident.

“The agreement does not apply to convicts who have been sentenced to death. Neither can the convicts exercise this option till the court of final appeal in the country in which the crime has been committed has settled the case,” the Express report stated.

Read the entire Indian Express report here

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