Enrica Lexie case

2012 Italian shooting in the Arabian sea
The shootings occurred off the coast of Kerala state, India
Location	Indian Exclusive Economic Zone
Date	15 February 2012 4:30 pm (UTC+5.30)
Attack type	Shooting
Deaths	Indian fishermen: Ajesh Binki and Gelastine
Perpetrators	Italian Marines: Latorre Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone (accused)

2012 Italian shooting in the Arabian sea off coast of southern India by an Italian navy security team on board oil tanker MV Enrica Lexie travelling from Singapore to Egypt resulted in the death of two Indian fishermen on 15 February 2012. Ajesh Binki and Gelastine from Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala respectively aboard a fishing traweler were allegedly killed by the gun shots from the navy security guards (marines) of the Reggimento San Marco, Marina Militare.

The incident sparked a major diplomatic row between Italy and India, with Indian police immediately opening a murder enquiry and later arresting two members of the navy security team over the shooting. After completing formalities in Kochi, the marines were taken to nearby Kollam town by the local investigating team and produced in a court. On February 20 the court ordered to keep them in police custody for now and sent to prison after three days till a bail is granted.

According to the Indian Coast Guard, Indian government sources and the crew of the fishing boat Saint Antony, the incident happened at approximately 16:30 when the fishing boat was returning from a fishing expedition. Umberto Vitelli, the captain of the Enrica Lexie, and the Italian crew state that the firing was in self defense as they anticipated the fishermen to be pirates about to be boarded.

Incident

Shooting

Map of areas under threat by Indian ocean pirates.

The MV Enrica Lexie was travelling from Singapore to Egypt with a crew of 34 including 19 Indians and accompanied by six Italian marines from the San Marco Regiment, while the fishing trawler named St. Antony had left Neendakara in Kerala with a crew of 11 to fish for tuna. The incident happened 14 nautical miles (26 km) from the Indian coast at approximately 4:30 pm off the coast of Kerala, with Indian and Italian sources giving different accounts of the incident.

According to the captain of the Enrica Lexie and the Italian marines, the fishermen were armed, and the marines fired at them as they anticipated that the fisherman would try and board the ship. A statement by India's ministry of external affairs denied that the fishermen were armed. It was said that they resorted to firing only after the boat was warned by flashing the search lights and displaying weapons. The effectiveness of the flashing search light is unclear as the incident happened in broad daylight. They also assert that the incident happened in international waters.. According to India the firing occurred in the contiguous zone that is well within its jurisdiction. The captain and owner of the St. Antony, Freddie Louis, said that their boat was returning from their fishing expedition and were waiting for the tanker to pass when the security men on board the tanker fired at the boat “without provocation”. According to him, the firing lasted for two minutes, killing driver Gelastine immediately and injuring Ajesh Binki; soon after the trawler steered out of the firing range, Binki succumbed to injuries.

Indian Coast Guard intervention

After the fishing boat reported the incident to the local police, the information was conveyed to the Indian Coast Guard which deployed two ships including the fast attack craft INS Kabra and an aircraft to intercept the Enrica Lexie. The Enrica Lexie was contacted by the Coast Guard and was requested to proceed to the Kochi port where it was anchored. The Italian ambassador stated that he wanted to underline that the Enrica Lexie had voluntarily proceeded to the Kochi port. Speaking for the Coast Guard, Vice-Admiral K.N. Sushil, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Southern Naval Command and Commander-in-Chief (Coastal Defence) of the Southern Zone, stated that it appeared the Italian marines erred in judgement. He noted that while it was accepted procedure to report piracy events or suspicious activities immediately to Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC), the ship continued sailing for 70 km on its route to Egypt without reporting the incident and that they give information only when contacted by the Coast Guard two and a half hours after the incident, upon which they were asked to proceed to Kochi. He added that: [sic]

If they thought they were being chased by a pirate vessel, they should have carried out evasive manoeuvres to alter the course of the ship, as enunciated by the guidelines. If the skiff was still after them, they would've fired a few warning shots well above the bow of the pirate vessel to deter it. Unfortunately, they do not seem to have done any of this. The Italians are claiming that this was a successful anti-piracy operation, but it is crystal clear that the fishermen were unarmed and were not attempting to come alongside the tanker to board it. As the tanker crew claims to have been fired upon, I sent fast attack craft INS Kabra to ascertain if there were bullet marks on it. It went around the ship to find that there was none. I've also asked my men to verify the tanker's logbook to account for the number of rounds fired by the guards. This is to see if they had fired any warning shot at all. What are you talking about the fishing vessel giving you a chase when the maximum speed it can attain is just about eight knots?

Aftermath

Legal jurisdiction

Ships sailing the high seas are generally under the jurisdiction of the flag state.. According to India the firing occurred in the contiguous zone that is well within its jurisdiction. The contiguous zone is a band of water extending from the outer edge of the territorial sea to up to 24 nautical miles or 44 kilometres from the baseline.

In this case, the fishing vessel was flying Indian flag and hence was under Indian legal jurisdiction; while as, the oil tanker was flying Italian Flag and hence was under Italian jurisdiction.

Italy claims that it has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute any alleged crime since the tanker Enrica Lexie, from where the shots were fired, was in international waters under the Italian flag. India on the other hand claims that the two fishermen were killed aboard an Indian fishing vessel; hence, Indian courts have jurisdiction.

Furthermore, Italy claims that the presence of military personnel aboard the cargo ship is governed by an Italian law conforming to U.N. anti-piracy resolutions, and it stated that such personnel are part of the Italian state and thus immune to the jurisdiction of foreign states. However, the Indian External Affairs Ministry and the Kerala Police, maintained that the Kerala Police had jurisdiction since the incident happened on an Indian fishing vessel and that it was still within the Indian Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the coast and also within Contiguous Zone that extends to 24 nautical miles (44 km)and further because the alleged crime involved a death on an Indian vessel.

Diplomatic fallout

After the incident on 15 February, the Italian ambassador in Delhi, Giacomo Sanfelice di Montefor was summoned by the External Affairs Ministry the next day and lodged an official protest at the incident. On 17 February, Indian External Affairs Minister S. M. Krishna informed the Italian Foreign Minister in a telephone conservation that the fishermen were unarmed and posed no threat to any ship. The Italian foreign ministry said in a statement that Italy’s ambassador to India and a delegation of experts from Italy’s foreign, defense and justice ministries arrived in Delhi on 19 February 2012 and discussed the case with Indian officials. According to the Italian foreign ministry, However, the meeting between the Indian and Italian officials failed to yield agreement.

Burial of victims

The bodies of the two fishermen were brought to Neendakara harbour late on the night of 15 February and were taken to the Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, for post mortem. Subsequently, Gelastine's body was taken to Kollam and buried on the morning of 17 February, while the body of the Ajesh Binki, was taken to Erayammanthurai in Tamil Nadu's Nagercoil district and buried. The Kerala government announced a solatium of Rs. 5 lakh (Rs. 5,00,000) to the families of each of the victims, while the Tamil Nadu government announced a solatium of Rs. 5 lakh to the family of Ajesh Binki.

Arrest of Italian mariness

The Kerala Police charged two Italian marines aboard the Enrica Lexie, who were identified as Latorre Massimiliano and Salvatore Girone, with murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and on 19 February took them into custody for interrogation.

Intervention by religious leader

According to Vatican-based Catholic news agency Fides, the newly consecrated Cardinal of the Catholic Church, Mar George Alencherry from Kerala, has called for a “peaceful solution” to the issue. He has appealed to the Kerala government not to resort to precipitate action and warned the opposition against trying to exploit the situation. He said “I am and will remain in close contact with the Catholic Ministers of Kerala and I hope that they will help to pacify the situation". He was worried that the Kerala opposition party might take advantage of the situation and exploit the case for electoral reasons. However, a spokesman of the Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Church said that the statement of Alancherry was "distorted" by media and he had not said anything that went against India's position on the issue.