15 YRS FOR TAKING POTTERY FROM IRAQ
A RETIRED British geologist has been jailed for 15 years in Iraq after being caught trying to smuggle historic artefacts out of the country.
The family of Jim Fitton, 66, described the ruling by a judge in Baghdad yesterday as “tantamount to a death sentence”.
The verdict handed down to the British citizen shocked his defence lawyer, who had told him to expect a one-year suspended term.
Fitton, from Bath, and German Volker Waldman were arrested at Baghdad airport on March 20 after security discovered the items in their luggage.
They had been on a tourism expedition to
Eridu, an ancient Mesopotamian site.
Their tour guide, also a British citizen who was in his 80s and in poor health, died in police custody for reasons unrelated to his detention.
He was found with more than 20 archaeological fragments in his possession.
Waldman was yesterday found not to have had criminal intent and will be freed.
Fitton’s son-in-law Sam Tasker, 27, criticised the British Government over its “total lack of action in this case to date”. He said: “We are absolutely shattered. For a man of Jim’s age, 15 years in an Iraqi prison is tantamount to a death sentence, particularly for such a trivial and dubious crime, a crime that Jim was not even aware of when he perpetrated it.
“We are stunned at our own government’s total lack of action in this case to date. We are raising an appeal and urge the Government to support us in every way and to open lines of communication with us at a senior level.” The pair first appeared in court on May 15 in yellow overalls, telling judges they had no idea they might have broken local laws. In total, 12 fragments of pottery and shards were found in Fitton’s possession, all collected as souvenirs, his family said. His lawyer Thair Soud said he intended to appeal against the sentence immediately. It is not clear if Fitton can serve out his sentence in the UK as this would require a bilateral agreement with Iraq.