Officials in Italy reacted with dismay Monday at reports in the Indian media suggesting that 2 Italian marines accused of killing 2 Indian fishermen could face the death penalty.

According to The Times of India newspaper, India's federal Home Ministry has allowed its investigative agency to prosecute the marines under the Suppression of Unlawful Acts (SUA Act), a stringent law which envisages a maximum punishment of the death penalty for such crimes.

Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone are accused of shooting the Indian fishermen in 2012 after mistaking them for pirates. The 2 were serving as part of the security team on the Erica Lexie oil tanker crossing the Indian Ocean.

The marines have been on bail in India for the past 2 years and are residing in the premises of the Italian Embassy in New Delhi.

"If 2 years after the events there is an inability to even formulate a charge, this clearly breaches any idea of adequate justice," Italian Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said in Brussels on the sidelines of an EU foreign ministers' meeting.

Italy argues that the marines should be released because the incident took place in international waters, outside India's jurisdiction.

India's Supreme Court had ruled in January 2013 that a special court should be set up to try the case and the trial completed within a year.

The Supreme Court heard a petition Monday from the marines saying the case against them should be dropped due to the delay in their trial. The court adjourned the hearing to February 3 saying the government was trying to resolve the issue, the Times of India reported.

Bonino said India's recourse to the SUA Act would be a problem as it not only foresees the death penalty, but also because it reverses the onus of the proof on the defendants, rather than on the prosecution.

If Indian prosecutors fail to detail charges against the two marines at the February 3 hearing, Italy would ask for them to be allowed to return home, news agency ANSA quoted Italian special envoy Staffan De Mistura as saying in New Delhi.

"This, while waiting for the Indian side to be ready to start the trial, also on condition that the SUA Act will not be applied," De Mistura said.

Source: Deutsche Presse-Agentur, January 21, 2014