LONDON: A retired British geologist facing an Iraqi court over allegations that he attempted to smuggle historical items has argued that he did not realize he was committing a crime.
Jim Fitton, 66, took 12 stones and shards of broken pottery from an archaeological site in Eridu, southeastern Iraq.
Fitton, who is facing the death penalty, appeared in the Baghdad court with German national Volker Waldmann.
He told the three-judge panel that he did not act with criminal intent, adding that there were no signs warning him against taking the shards of pottery.
Fitton told the judges that he “suspected” the items had ancient heritage, but that he “didn’t know about Iraqi laws” at the time, and that he was unaware that taking the shards was a criminal offense.
He was confused because “there were fences, no guards or signage.”
Fitton said that his background as a geologist meant that he liked to collect fragments as a hobby, but did not intend to sell them.
The chief judge in the Baghdad court told Fitton that the location and importance of the site meant that the items were clearly protected.
“These places, in name and by definition, are ancient sites. One doesn’t have to say it is forbidden,” Jaber Abdel Jabir said.
Fitton pleaded that some of the shards he had recovered were “no larger than my fingernail,” but the judge responded: “Size doesn’t matter.”
The 66-year-old and Waldmann were arrested as they attempted to fly out of the country at the end of a geological tour in March. Pottery shards and stones were recovered from their luggage.
Waldmann said that the two artifacts found among his belongings were given to him by Fitton.
The court will reconvene on May 22 to determine if the men hoped to profit from the shards. They are facing the death penalty, but some legal experts have said that this is an unlikely result, even if it is the statutory sentence for smuggling artifacts.
Fitton’s lawyers are expected to submit further evidence, including information from government employees who were present at the sites where the shards and stones were recovered.
