File photo: Italian marines who have been charged with killing the fisherman
The owner of a boat, on which two fishermen were killed by Italian marines in February, has withdrawn the compensation case after receiving Rs 17 lakh as damages from the Italian government. Freddy, owner of the fishing boat St Antony, also reportedly gave an undertaking to Italian authorities stating that he "pardons the marines in the name of God."
Soon after the incident on February 15, Freddy had filed an admiralty suit in the Kerala High Court seeking Rs 72,60,000 as compensation for his damaged boat and for the loss of his livelihood and that of his co-workers. Representatives from the Italian government had been in touch with Freddy to settle the matter out of court. The High Court transferred the case to a Lok Adalat after Freddy and the Italian government reached an agreement to settle the matter out of court.
During negotiations in the Lok Adalat, Freddy scaled down the compensation amount to Rs 17 lakh. The Italian government handed over a demand draft of the same amount to Freddy on Friday.
This comes three days after the Italian government handed over Rs.1 crore each as compensation to the two victims' families. The families on Tuesday also "pardoned the marines in the name of God" and hoped they would soon re-unite with their families in Italy.
Freddy's counsel refused to confirm whether an undertaking pardoning the marines, similar to the ones given by the victims' families, was handed over to the Italian government. "Nothing of this sort has been mentioned in the original agreement. But even if a separate undertaking or letter is given, it does not have any impact on the criminal case against the marines," said Advocate Raja Vijayaraghavan, Freddy's counsel.