Iran News - Museum thefts in Iran cause alarm

Iran News - Museum thefts in Iran cause alarm: "Museum thefts in Iran cause alarm

Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - ©2005 IranMania.com

LONDON, January 18 (IranMania) - Systematic thefts of antiquities from Iranian museums and their sale to Western museums are causing deep concern, the Persian daily Jaam-e Jam reported.

The daily noted that a national campaign should be organized against the network formed by burglars of artifacts from Iranian museums and the justice system is expected to take firm action against those attempting to trade ?the nation?s historical identity by stealing antiquities and exchanging them with money?.

?Three years ago, artifacts of Iran Ancient Museum, including golden plates with inscriptions, were stolen and thieves stole a very precious painting from Golestan Palace as well as a Safavid carpet from Iran Carpet Museum. The theft of antiquities continued when an invaluable handwritten copy of holy Qur?an attributed to Imam Ali (AS) was reported from a museum of Shiraz,? it said.

Police investigations on thefts from Iran Ancient Museum indicated that professional dealers of artifacts are making criminal efforts to steal antiquities. They revealed new dimensions of the theft following its legal action against the burglary of eight artifacts stolen from Iran Ancient Museum. It also lent weight to the theory that there was collusion between some staffers of the museums and the thieves.

Police also revealed that in some cases the original artifacts were changed with a fake. They pointed out that the thieves have been identified as regular visitors of the museums.

The suspicion against certain staffers of museums increased after the statue of a goat unearthed from the Burnt City was found from the warehouse of a gallery after a police raid.

?The statue of the goat has been returned to the museum,? the daily said.

Jaam-e Jam further said that following the latest case of theft from Iran Ancient Museum, people from all walks of life contacted the newspaper and urged Tehran?s prosecutor to bring to justice all those found guilty.

Prosecutor of Tehran?s Criminal Court Fakhreddin Jafarzadeh said that a preliminary report indicated that the thefts from museums have other dimensions that require further investigations."