Italian marines unhappy in prison, likely to be moved out
Posted on: 06 Mar 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: The two Italian marines who are being held in the Thiruvananthapuram Central Prison on the charge of killing two Indian fishermen are reportedly unhappy and likely to be moved out soon.
This was revealed after discussions between top Italian officials and senior police officials which ended in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
'They have currently been put in a room in which former Kerala minister R.Balakrishna Pillai was put, till his release last year. The food is coming from outside as per the direction from the court. Now, discussions are going on if they can be shifted out from here because as per the Geneva Convention, foreign defence personnel have rights and privileges,' said a top jail official on the condition of anonymity.
The Kollam chief judicial magistrate court had Monday extended the custody of the two marines and ordered them to be sent to the Central Jail until March 19.
The court also asked the police to see that they should not be kept with other jail inmates, and if they felt the security cover was inadequate, then they could be shifted elsewhere with the permission of the court.
Latorre Massimillano and Salvatore Girone were on Feb 20 sentenced by the court to 14 days custody, of which the first three days were police custody. The judicial custody was later extended twice by seven days each. They were being kept in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) guest house in Kochi, and later at Kollam and were Monday sent to the Central Jail.
Indian fishermen Ajesh Binki (25), and Gelastine (45), were allegedly shot dead Feb 15 by the marines who mistook them to be pirates. The marines were on board cargo vessel Enrica Lexie, about 14 nautical miles off Alappuzha in Kerala.
