New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The Supreme Court of India authorised Italian marine Massimiliano Latorre to return to Italy on medical grounds.
Italian Ambassador to India, Daniele Mancini, gave the judges a written guarantee for the return to India of the Italian marine within four months.
The government told the court that it has no objection to the soldier's temporary repatriation. Latorre, 47, was hospitalised after suffering a brain ischemia on 31 August in New Delhi.
Latorre and his fellow marine Salvatore Girone were indicted for the death of two Indian fishermen in February 2012 in Kerala.
They stand charged with killing the two men - Jelastine and Ajesh Binki - after firing at their fishing vessel whilst providing security on board of Italian tanker Enrica Lexie.
The two soldiers claim they fired warning shots because they mistook the trawler for a pirate ship.
After an initial wave of great interest, the issue has lost some of its media lustre.
"The general feeling is that the two are guilty," Prasann Seph, a tourist guide from Noida (Uttar Pradesh), told AsiaNews. "However, big media interest around this story has waned. Now we are just waiting to see justice take its course,"
Fr Eugine Pereira, vicar general of the Diocese of Trivandrum, also spoke to AsiaNews. In his view, "The court's decisions must be respected". But in the end, "We are left with the loss of two lives and the pain of several families."