THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Italy on Thursday filed a petition in an Indian high court seeking the dismissal of a murder case against two soldiers held over the fatal shooting of two fishermen.
The Italian soldiers, who were posted on board a 58,000-ton oil tanker to guard against the increasing threat from pirates in the Indian Ocean, are
accused of shooting dead the fishermen off the coast of Kerala state last week.
Chief prosecutor T. Asaf Ali opposed the dismissal plea and described the deaths, which have caused a sharp rise in diplomatic tensions, as "brutal murder".
Judge P. S. Gopinathan told the national and state governments to file their responses to the plea by Tuesday.
Italian junior foreign minister Staffan De Mistura met with the soldiers on Thursday in Cochin ahead of a separate court appearance at which their custody was extended.
India has demanded that the pair, who are alleged to have shot the fishermen after mistaking them for pirates, face murder charges in the local courts 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 with the detained Italian soldiers Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone.
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 in Cochin 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.
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