UK geologist jailed for 15 years in Iraq for collecting pottery shards
A RETIRED British geologist was sentenced to 15 years in an Iraqi jail yesterday after trying to take shards of broken pottery out of the country.
Jim Fitton, 66, collected a dozen stones and bits of ceramics as souvenirs during a recent geology and archaeology tour to Eridu, an ancient Mesopotamian city in southern Iraq.
While he could have faced the death penalty, the verdict shocked the court in Baghdad, including his defence lawyer, who expected a suspended jail term at worst.
The authorities said the sentence was reduced due to Fitton’s age but his son-in-law last night said the tariff amounted to a death sentence.
Sam Tasker, 27, also lambasted the UK Government for what he said was their ‘total lack of action in this case to date’.
Mr Tasker, who is married to Fitton’s daughter Leila, 31, added: ‘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 completely heartbroken that our own best efforts, a strong legal defence and constant campaigning, have led to this outcome. We are disappointed, indeed stunned, at our government’s total lack of action in this case to date. We are raising an appeal and will continue to fight for Jim’s freedom, and urge the Government to support us in every way possible and to open lines of communication with us at a senior level.’
Father-of-two Mr Fitton, who is originally from Bath but lived in Malaysia with wife Sarijah, was arrested at Baghdad airport on March 20 alongside a German tourist Volker Waldmann, after airport security discovered the items in their luggage.
Mr Waldman’s defence team said the German tourist had been carrying the pieces for Fitton but did not pick them up from the site. He was released by the court. Judge Jabir Abd Jabir found that by picking up the items and intending to transport them out of the country, Fitton had criminal intent to smuggle them.
A report by the Iraqi culture ministry said the pieces were more than 200 years old, without offering any further explanation about their provenance.
The judge did not consider the arguments of Mr Fitton’s lawyer Thair Soud that he was ignorant of Iraqi laws and the value of the items. ‘I thought the worst case scenario would be one year, with suspension,’ the shocked lawyer said. Mr Fitton, who was well travelled during a career working as a geologist for oil and gas companies, collected the items as souvenirs while visiting a site in Eridu, in Iraq’s south east.
He had faced a potential death sentence, although Iraqi officials said that was only a remote possibility. A petition started by his family over the apparent lack of government action has so far been signed by more than 100,000 signatories.
The British diplomatic mission in Baghdad has not commented on its involvement in the case. If the two countries come to an agreement, it is possible Fitton could be sent back to Britain to serve his sentence here.
Eridu is thought to be one of the oldest cities of the ancient Mesopotamian civilisation, dating from 5,400BC until it was abandoned in about 600BC.
‘He could serve his sentence in Britain’