India Court Orders Italian Envoy to Stay Put - Wall Street Journal (India)

By MARGHERITA STANCATI And ROMIT GUHA NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court of India on Thursday sought to restrain Italy's ambassador from leaving the country in response to Rome's declaration that two Italian marines will not return to India to stand trial on murder charges. Prakash Singh/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Italian Ambassador to India Daniele Mancini exits the Ministry of External Affairs office in New Delhi on Tuesday. In a notice, the court said Italian Ambassador Daniele Mancini is not allowed to leave India without its permission, said India's attorney general, Goolam E. Vahanvati, in an interview. The move adds more tension to already-fraught relations between the two countries. Mr. Vahanvati said the Supreme Court's notice requested Mr. Mancini to appear before the court on Monday to explain the Italian government's decision since Italy has previously promised that the marines would return. It's unclear whether the court's move is compatible with the terms of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an international treaty that grants diplomats immunity from criminal, civil and administrative jurisdiction in the country that hosts them. An official from the Italian embassy in New Delhi declined comment. The court also asked the two marines to return to India to attend Monday's hearing. The pair are accused of shooting and killing two Indian fishermen off the coastal state Kerala last year. They deny they committed murder. Italy and India disagree over where they should stand trial, an issue that has triggered a diplomatic dispute and polarized public opinion in both countries. In January, India's Supreme Court said the two men, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, will face trial in a special court in Delhi. A month later, the court agreed to an Italian government request to allow the two men to leave India and travel to Italy for four weeks to vote in elections. At the time, Mr. Mancini, the Italian ambassador to New Delhi, guaranteed to the court the marines would come back to India. Italy now says the two marines will not be returning to India to face trial as agreed, a move that sparked angry reactions from India. Italy has long held that the alleged incident happened in international waters and that the pair should be tried in Rome. On Monday, in a note that informed India's foreign ministry of its decision, Rome said Indian authorities had violated international laws of the sea. Italy said it was open to resolve the diplomatic dispute through international channels. The Indian government has slammed Italy's position as unacceptable, with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday warning there would be consequences to bilateral relations unless the marines return. Mr. Singh urged Italian authorities to respect their commitment to the Supreme Court and return the marines. A spokesman for India's foreign ministry said he had not yet seen the court's order, and declined further comment. via Top Stories - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGCb0ro3JQNHtgzoeizzgpIyO8v5g&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324077704578359613540230752.html

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