New Delhi: Italy’s deputy forign minister Stffan de Mistura urged India on Friday to bring two Italianmarines facing murder charges to court quickly as they returned to face trial in New Delhi.

“The sooner we see the special court going ahead and concluding, the better it is,”de Mistura told a press conference at the Italian embassy, adding: “In the currentcircumstances the matter of a very few months would be ideal.”

The marines were arrested in India in February 2012 after shooting dead two fishermenwhile guarding an Italian oil tanker sailing off India’s southwestern coast. After they weregranted bail by the Supreme Court to fly home to vote last month, Italy announced it wouldnot return the accused, sparking a diplomatic row in New Delhi.

The change of heart came after Italy received an undertaking from the Indian governmentthat the marines did not face the possibility of the death penalty, which is handed down inIndia for the “rarest of rare” crimes, he said. “For us the death penalty is a no-no,” he added.