Rome:
As the row over Italy's refusal to send back two marines to India to face a murder trial rages on, the mother of one of them has said that "justice has been done".
Speaking to NDTV, Carmela Latorre, the mother of Massimiliano Latore, said, "Everything is fine now...Our boys are free to do their duty... I am feeling what a mother feels....Justice has been done."
"Our sons are soldiers," she said, adding, "Max is a friend of India."
But Italy's refusal to return Latorre and marine Salvatore Girone has caused much diplomatic tension, with India warning the former of "consequences".
The duo, accused of killing two fishermen from Kerala last year, had been allowed by the Supreme Court to go home to vote in Italy's national elections after Italy's Ambassador to India, Daniele Mancini, gave a written assurance that they would return for the trial. On Monday, Italy informed India that the men would not be sent back.
Italy says that its decision was taken after India ignored its offer for diplomatic negotiations and because New Delhi does not have jurisdiction over the case.
The marines were guarding an Italian tanker off the Kochi coast in February last year when they say they mistook two fishermen for pirates and shot them. Italy claims the shooting took place in international waters; India disagrees.