British Man Given 15-Year Sentence for Smuggling Antiquities in Iraq – RisePEI
A British man has been sentenced to fifteen years in jail for smuggling antiquities out of Iraq this week, bringing a dramatic finish to a case that has acquired worldwide consideration.
The lawyer for Jim Fitton, a retired geologist, stated they deliberate to attraction the choice. “I assumed the worst-case state of affairs could be one yr, with suspension,” Thair Soud, Fitton’s authorized consultant, told Al Jazeera, including that he plans to attraction the choice.
Iraqi officers arrested Fitton and a German man, Volker Waldmann, at a Baghdad airport in March. Though Waldmann was believed to not have had legal intent in trying to hold artifacts past Iraqi borders, investigators within the nation stated that Fitton was trying to smuggle them.
Fitton’s household has stated that the 12 pottery shards that have been allegedly in his place have been taken as souvenirs throughout a go to to Eridu, an historic website within the Mesopotamian desert. Relations stated that Fitton and different guests to Eridu had been inspired to take the shards by a tour chief.
A lawyer for Waldmann had claimed that he had been in possession of the shards Fitton had taken, however that he personally didn’t take away them.
Within the worldwide press, Fitton’s case had attracted scrutiny as a result of he was reported to have been eligible for the demise penalty. Nonetheless, Iraqi officers stated they weren’t seemingly to present him a punishment fairly so harsh. British officers raised issues about the opportunity of the demise penalty cost.
It’s unclear the place Fitton will find yourself serving his sentence.
