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BAGHDAD (AP) — A British and a German vacationer accused of smuggling historical shards out of Iraq appeared in a Baghdad courtroom in yellow detainees’ uniforms Sunday, telling judges that they had not acted with prison intent and had no concept they could have damaged native legal guidelines.
The trial of Jim Fitton, 66, is grabbing worldwide consideration at a time when Iraq seeks to open up its nascent tourism sector. The session additionally revealed first particulars a few second defendant, recognized as Volker Waldmann of Germany.
The three-judge panel in Baghdad’s felony courtroom scheduled the following listening to for Could 22. The courtroom should decide whether or not the defendants had sought to revenue by taking the 12 gadgets, which had been discovered of their possession as they tried to fly out of Baghdad airport on March 20.
Fitton and Waldmann appeared in courtroom in detainees’ yellow and had been requested to clarify their actions.
Waldmann stated the 2 gadgets present in his possession weren’t his and as an alternative had been given to him by Fitton to hold. “However did you place them in your bag?” requested head decide Jaber Abdel Jabir. “Didn’t these had been Iraqi antiquities?”
Waldmann stated he did not choose up the gadgets from the positioning, solely agreed to hold them for Fitton.
Fitton stated he “suspected” the gadgets he collected had been historical fragments, however that “on the time I didn’t find out about Iraqi legal guidelines,” or that taking the shards was not permitted. Fitton stated as geologist he was within the behavior of accumulating such fragments as a passion and had no intention to promote them.
He stated it was not clear to him on the time that choosing them up from the positioning was a prison offence. “There have been fences, no guards or signage,” on the websites he informed the courtroom.
“These locations, in identify and by definition, are historical websites,” Jabir responded. “One doesn’t must say it’s forbidden.”
When Fitton stated a few of the shards had been “no bigger than my fingernail” , Jabir stated this was not related. “Dimension doesn’t matter,” he informed him.
Primarily based on the regulation each males may face the demise penalty, an end result that authorized specialists stated was unlikely. British and German embassy officers had been current on the courtroom however haven’t issued detailed public statements concerning the case so as to not jeopardize the proceedings, they stated.
The protection plans to submit extra proof to clear the lads, Fitton’s protection lawyer Thair Soud informed The Related Press. This contains testimony from authorities officers current on the website the place the fragments had been collected, he stated.
“(Their testimony) is pending approval from their official directorates,” he stated.
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