India allows ailing Italian murder suspect to extend stay in home
Xinhua, January 14, 2015 Adjust font size:
India's Supreme Court on Wednesday permit Italian marine Massimiliano Latorre, accused of killing Indian fishermen in 2012, to extend his stay in Italy by three more months on health grounds.
The court granted the murder suspect the extension following his plea, which he filed last week after undergoing a heart surgery in Italy.
Latorre was allowed to go home in September, 2014 for four months for medical treatment after he suffered a stroke in New Delhi.
In December, he sought an extension of his stay, which was rejected by the apex court.
Latorre, along with another marine Salvatore Girone, is facing murder charges on bail, pending trial.
Girone is currently staying at the Italian Embassy in the Indian capital.
The duo were accused of killing two Indian fishermen aboard an Italian oil tanker off the southern Kerala coast in February 2012.
The marines, who were subsequently arrested, said they mistook the fishermen for pirates.
Their arrests triggered a bitter diplomatic row between the two countries.
Italy insists that as the shooting took place in the international waters, the men should be tried in a global court, while India claims that the killing happened in its territorial waters. Endi