A 66-year-old British man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for trying to smuggle ancient artifacts out of Iraq. A German arrested alongside him was acquitted.
Fitton, left, and Waldmann, center, both faced trial, but the latter was acquitted by the courtImage: picture alliance/AP
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The Baghdad Criminal Court on Monday sentenced a UK citizen to 15 years in prison on charges that he attempted to steal artifacts and take them out of Iraq.
The sentence was handed to retired geologist Jim Fitton in a case that has garnered widespread attention.
Found to have criminal intent
Iraqi authorities arrested Fitton at Baghdad International Airport in March for carrying small fragments of ancient pottery in his luggage. He had been on an expedition touring the country's ancient sites.
A total of 32 artifacts were found in four pieces of luggage belonging to a tourist group, mostly that belonging to Fitton.
He picked up the items in question on a group tourism expedition to Eridu, an ancient Mesopotamian site in southern Iraq.
Fitton said that, as a geologist, he had a habit of collecting such fragments as a hobby but had no intention of selling them.
However, Judge Jabir Abd Jabir did not consider defense lawyer Thair Soud's arguments based on Fitton's ignorance of Iraqi law and the apparently low value of the items.
The judge found that by removing the items and intending to transport them out of the country, Fitton had criminal intent to smuggle them.
Mesopotamia: Where history got its start
The land between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers in the Middle East is one of the cradles of Western civilization. Many inventions from the regionn are still with us - though we're often fully unaware of their origins.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Scholz
First cities
Mankind's first cities were founded on the banks of Euphrates and Tigris Rivers around 6,000 years ago. Over three millennia, the Mesopotamian civilization developed into a dense network of cities, eventually giving rise to veritable urban centers like Babylon and Nineveh, the latter reconstructed here in an illustration.
Image: Imago/UIG
First empire
The Mesopotamian civilization once existed in the region currently occupied by Iraq and Syria, divided into Northern Assyria and Southern Babylonia. At first, the region was made up of many small provinces, but around 5,000 years ago they joined forces and became one large territory.
Image: DW
First script
At first glance, it looks like a beautiful pattern of simple lines and stars. But this image shows an example of the earliest known system of writing, called cuneiform, which dates back around 6,000 years to early Mesopotamia. Cuneiform led to the eventual development of the first alphabets in around a dozen different languages.
Image: Service presse/Musee du Louvre-Lens
First kings
The Mesopotamian kings, including Tukulti-Ninurta I, named on this pedestal, were said to receive their powers from God. In return, they were responsible for providing security and planning their cities, and for enforcing justice with the first written laws. This exhibit is one of 12 on loan from the Berlin State Museums for the Louvre exhibition.
Image: Service presse/Musee du Louvre-Lens
First agriculture
In Mesopotamia, hunters and gatherers became farmers and cattle breeders. For the first time in history, people no longer depended on berries and wild game for sustenance; instead, they planted fields and cared for livestock. They even built irrigation systems to supply arid southern regions with water. Around this time, milk also began being processed into varied products like yogurt and cheese.
Image: Service presse/Musee du Louvre-Lens
First wheel
This crucial invention was also developed in Mesopotamia. In this relief sculpture, a carpenter is seen chiseling an axle. The Mesopotamians also developed other innovative crafts, such as braiding and textiles. They also experimented with fire, creating ceramics, metals and even glass.
Image: Service presse/Musee du Louvre-Lens
Divine hierarchies
With eyes made of lapis lazuli, this masterpiece in the Louvre-Lens exhibition portrays a praying Ebih-Il, a Syrian official from the 25th century B.C. Religion was a dominant force in Mesopotamia. The world of humans was seen as a reproduction of the divine world. High-ranking gods were served by lesser gods - humans were at the end of line and had to be obedient and hard-working.
Image: Service presse/Musee du Louvre-Lens
The end
In the year 331 B.C., Alexander the Great brought an end to the Mesopotamian civilization and spread Greek culture throughout the region. Mesopotamian traditions and ways of life were lost, until they were excavated thousands of years later. They will be on display, some for the first time, at the Louvre-Lens through January 23.
Image: picture-alliance/akg-images
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Possible penalty of hanging
While his own defense lawyer expressed shock that the sentence had not been more lenient, the 66-year-old Fitton could have faced a potential death penalty.
The maximum penalty for the offense is death by hanging. However, the court reduced the sentence "because of the advanced age of the accused."
Fitton's lawyer Soud has said he intended to appeal the case.
The court said there was "insufficient evidence" to convict Fitton's 60-year-old co-accused German tourist Volker Waldmann. It found that he did not have criminal intent.
Waldman's legal team said he had been carrying the pieces for Fitton but did not pick them up from the site.
Fitton's family brought the case to international attention when they started a petition that has garnered more than 100,000 signatures.
The family accused the UK Foreign Office of inaction. Britain's Baghdad diplomatic mission has not commented on its involvement.
