Athens - A Greek court on Tuesday decided to drop the case
against a former curator of the Los Angeles J. Paul Getty Museum who
was charged with antiquities smuggling.
The entire case against former curator Marion True was thrown out
of court because a 10-year statute of limitations in the US had
expired since the stolen antiquities first came to light.
True was initially charged with illegally purchasing a 4th century
BC gold funerary wreath and smuggling it out of Greece more than a
decade ago while she was antiquities curator for the museum.
The wreath, which was discovered during an illegal dig at an
ancient Macedonian tomb in northern Greece, was sold to Getty
officials for 1.15 million dollars in 1993.
The wreath was returned to Greece in March.
True's lawyer in Athens argued that his client was also accused of
the same offence in European Union member Italy and should thus not
be required to stand trial for similar charges in Greece.
The trial was initially supposed to have taken place on November
20 but was postponed after True's lawyer asked for the case to be
dismissed. She did not attend the trial.
The US museum has been implicated in an international art
smuggling scandal since True was charged last year in Rome with
conspiring to deal with looted antiquities.
True is also on trial in Italy on charges of trafficking in stolen
antiquities for the Getty. She has denied any wrongdoing. The Los
Angeles museum decided to return some 40 artifacts to Italy in August
after a long series of negotiations.
Greece is currently cracking down on the illegal trade in ancient
artifacts and has vowed to seek the return of all objects which have
been proven to be illegally smuggled out of the country.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
USA
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