An Italian minister on Thursday met with two of his country's soldiers being held in custody in southern India over the fatal shooting of two Indian fishermen.
Italy's junior foreign minister Staffan De Mistura spoke with the soldiers ahead of their appearance in court on a detention hearing amid increasing diplomatic tension over the incident.
India has demanded that the soldiers, who are alleged to have shot the fishermen after mistaking them for pirates, face murder charges in court but Italy says the men must be given immunity.
"What we do know is that it did take place in international waters," De Mistura told reporters after meeting the soldiers in the city of Cochin, adding that the men were being treated well in custody.
The soldiers, who were posted on board an oil tanker to guard against the increasing threat from pirates in the Indian Ocean, are accused of shooting dead the fishermen off the Kerala coast last week.
Italy's defence ministry earlier said the Indian crew behaved aggressively and were repeatedly warned before any shots were fired as the tanker was sailing from Singapore to Egypt.
The soldiers were arrested and escorted off the vessel on Sunday evening.
Ships now often employ armed guards for protection off the coast of Somalia and across the Indian Ocean as vessels of all sizes have been seized by pirates who often secure huge ransoms for the crews' safe release.
There are no comments yet