Italy today asked the judges at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) here to order India to release its detained marine Salvatore Girone otherwise he risks four more years in India without any charges being made which would amount to "grave violation of his human rights".
The PCA is hearing the oral arguments by the two sides in the matter today and tomorrow.
The arbitration "could last at least three or four years" which means that Girone risks "being held in (New) Delhi, without any charges being made, for a total of seven-eight years", Italy's representative told the court, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
Girone is one of two Italian marines accused by India of killing two of its fishermen during an anti-piracy mission in 2012. He has not been able to leave India, aside from a few brief permits, since the incident. The other marine, Massimiliano Latorre, is back in Italy after having a stroke in 2014.
The two marines on board ship 'Enrica Lexie' are accused of killing two Indian fishermen in 2012 off the Kerala coast after mistaking them for pirates.
The Italian government has taken the marines case to international arbitration after repeated delays in the trial in India.
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Girone however "is obliged to live thousands of
kilometres (miles) away from his country and family, with two children still at a tender age" and is deprived of "his liberty," Italian ambassador Francesco Azzarello told the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA).
"He has not been subjected to any charge... His rights are seriously suffering," said Azzarello at the Hague-based arbitration body, set up in 1899 to rule in disputes between states and private entities.
Girone should be allowed to come home "pending the final determination of this tribunal," Azzarelo was quoted as saying by AFP.
