The court also ruled that there had been no “criminal intent” on the Briton’s part, Saoud said. It said that the charge against Fitton had been cancelled, and that he would be freed for lack of evidence. 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. “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.īut 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”.
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. Both men had pleaded not guilty.įitton’s lawyer launched the appeal just over a month ago.Īccording to statements from customs officers and witnesses, Fitton’s baggage contained about a dozen stone fragments, pieces of pottery or ceramics. 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.”įitton stood trial alongside German national Volker Waldmann, who was acquitted. The conviction has been “overturned today by the Court of Cassation and my client will soon be free”, lawyer Thaer Saoud told AFP.
James 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. Baghdad – 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.