An American soldier who shot and killed an Italian intelligence officer in Iraq in 2005 should not be tried in Italy which lacks jurisdiction in the case, the Italian Supreme Court ruled on Thursday.
The Court rejected a request by the Rome Prosecutors' office and a civil plaintiff to overturn an appeals court decision last October to shelve the case against US private Mario Lozano on the grounds that Italy ''lacked jurisdiction'' for such a trial.
The State Advocacy, state lawyers who represent the country in Italian courts and abroad, had also requested the Supreme Court to overturn the decision.
Later on Thursday, however, state lawyer Massimo Bachetti told reporters that after hearing the arguments of general prosecutor Alfredo Montagna, the State Advocacy had decided to abide by the Supreme Court's decision.
Bachetti, who represents the Premier's office in the case, said Premier Silvio Berlusconi's staff had ''given indications to adhere to the recommendations made by the Cassation Court prosecutor''.
Bachetti said he was ''distancing himself'' from the plea presented to the Supreme Court by his own colleagues to try Lozano in Italy.
''I realize that what I am saying is slightly atypical but, previously, I had not considered the arguments presented by the prosecutor on Lozano's immunity''.
''The decision to abide by the (Supreme) Court's decision seems to me the best possible thing, especially in view of the fact that the court rejected the Rome prosecutor's office appeal,'' Bachetti added.
Lozano had been brought to trial in abstentia for killing Nicola Calipari in an incident at a checkpoint along the Baghdad airport road on March 4, 2005.
He was the only soldier at the checkpoint to open fire and he also injured Calipari's driver and fellow SISMI agent, Andrea Carpani and journalist Giuliana Sgrena.
The journalist for the leftist daily Il Manifesto was being rushed to the airport after Calipari obtained her release from Iraqi insurgents when the incident took place.
Lozano says he simply respected the rules of engagement and opened fire when Calipari's car allegedly fail to obey an order to stop.
An unprecedented joint enquiry by US and Italian investigators into the incident failed to reach an agreed conclusion.
The American members cleared the checkpoint soldiers of all responsibility and refused to hand Lozano over for trial, while the Italians blamed the US's organisation of the checkpoint.
Calipari, a former policeman who rescued several Mafia kidnap victims before joining intelligence agency SISMI two years before his death, has become a national hero in Italy.
