British pensioner has conviction overturned after he was jailed for 15 years in Iraq over pottery shards he picked up as souvenirs
- Jim Fitton had been charged under a 2002 law to 15 years in prison in Iraq
- Fitton stood trial alongside German national Volker Waldmann, now acquitted
- The retired geologist said collecting antiques was his ‘hobby’ and he did not mean to do anything illegal
Jim Fitton, 66, a retired geologist and father of two, was facing the death penalty after being accused of smuggling out antiquities by the Iraqi authorities. Now, his lawyer says his conviction has been overturned
An Iraqi court has overturned the conviction and 15-year sentence handed to a British pensioner last month for antiquities smuggling, the retiree’s lawyer said Tuesday.
Jim Fitton had been charged under a 2002 law against ‘intentionally taking or trying to take out of Iraq an antiquity,’ the maximum penalty for which under the country’s legal code is death by hanging.
The conviction has been ‘overturned today by the Court of Cassation and my client will soon be free’, lawyer Thaer Saoud told AFP.
The retiree’s son-in-law, Sam Tasker, told AFP in a phone call that the family was ‘very pleased by the decision, but we are still waiting for his release.’
Fitton stood trial alongside German national Volker Waldmann, who was acquitted. Both men had pleaded not guilty.
Fitton’s lawyer launched the appeal just over a month ago.
According to statements from customs officers and witnesses, Fitton’s baggage contained about a dozen stone fragments, pieces of pottery or ceramics.
When the judge in the original trial asked Fitton why he tried to take the artefacts out of Iraq, the retired geologist cited his ‘hobby’ and said he did not mean to do anything illegal.
‘I didn’t realise that taking them was against the law,’ Fitton had said, adding that some of the ancient sites were open and unguarded.
But the judge in the original trial concluded there was criminal intent and sentenced Fitton to 15 years, rather than death, because of his ‘advanced age’.
Jim Fitton of Britain, centre, and Volker Waldmann of Germany, right, wear yellow detainees’ uniforms and are escorted handcuffed by Iraqi security forces outside a courtroom in Baghdad, Iraq
His family say that he has been accused of stealing fragments that were in the open at Eridu, an ancient ruin of a city that is found in Iraq, and was once in southern Mesopotamia
On his Facebook page on Tuesday, Fitton’s lawyer published the judgement that had been handed down by the Court of Cassation, overturning the original verdict.
It said that the charge against Fitton had been cancelled, and that he would be freed for lack of evidence.
The court also ruled that there had been no ‘criminal intent’ on the Briton’s part, Saoud said.
He added that his client would be released ‘in the next few days, as soon as the proceedings are completed’.
Authorities spotted 30 suspected stolen artefacts when members of the tour tried to fly home, seizing them and arresting the pair
The tour guide’s books warns against buying antiques from bazaars and local street stores, saying ‘under no circumstances should you try to smuggle antiquities out of Iraq.’ But as Hann was unwell, it appears he wasn’t present to warn members of the tour in person
Fitton was one of the members embarking on a tour with Geoff Hann, a British adventurer who was the first to open up tours in Iraq after the 2003 war, throughout Mesopotamia.
Though Hann had initially planned to lead the tour to the Sumerian city of Eriduhimself himself, he fell ill during the journey, forcing a trainee guide to take over while the adventurer spent most of the remaining trip recovering on the bus.
As Hann was sick, it appears he wasn’t present to warn members of the tour in person not to carry home some of the antiques.
Geoff Hann, a British adventurer who was the first to open up tours in Iraq after the 2003 war, has died under police guard in Iraq and officials stopped him from leaving the country
Iraq – home to the famed city of Babylon in ancient Mesopotamia – seeks to safeguard its archaeological heritage amid a rampant market for smuggled artifacts.
Seemingly unbeknownst to the tour’s leader, members of his group had taken some of the shards found at the Sumerian city, without interjection from the trainee tour guide.
The 85-year-old had a stroke the day before he was due to fly home, leaving him partially paralysed and unable to speak in defence of Fitton, one of the members found with the antique shards on the way through the airport.
The Fitton case comes at a time when the war-ravaged country, whose tourism infrastructure is almost non-existent, is tentatively opening to visitors.
The authorities crack down severely on attempts to deal in antiquities illegally.
Much of the country’s ancient cultural heritage has been looted for decades because of the many conflicts it has suffered, particularly after the US-led invasion of 2003 that ousted dictator Saddam Hussein.
The arrival of the Islamic State group in 2014 boosted the illegal sale of antiquities as the jihadists sought to bolster their coffers by smuggling out and selling ancient pieces.
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