Two Italian marines accused of murdering two Indian fishermen appeared in court Saturday for a preliminary hearing in a case that has caused a diplomatic row. Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, who shot dead the fishermen off India’s southwestern coast on February 15, appeared in the lower court in Kollam in the southern state of Kerala. The two marines deny murder, saying they mistook the fishermen for pirates. The court fixed June 18 for the next hearing and directed the state government to provide a list of interpreters “for the benefit of the accused”, the semi-official Press Trust of India news agency reported. It also asked the prosecution to provide copies of the charges to the two marines as requested by their lawyers.
