A Briton was arrested at the end of March at Baghdad airport with fragments of pottery, considered in Iraq as antiques. He has since been in pre-trial detention, his family said on Sunday May 1, citing their good faith.
If convicted, James Fitton could even risk the death penalty, according to Iraqi law, worries his family in a petition published on change.org and demanding his release. ” He was imprisoned for allegedly trying to smuggle ancient coins out of Iraq “, according to this text.
” Clearly, there is a mistake, there is no criminal intent, he is an elderly person “, told AFP his son-in-law, Sam Tasker. ” We just want him to come home. »
Fragments collected as a “souvenir”
James Fitton, a 66-year-old retired geologist, arrived in Iraq on a tour package on March 5. He was due to fly back on March 20 from Baghdad to return home to Malaysia. While searching his luggage, the customs officers at the airport came across ” stone fragments and shards of broken pottery which he had picked up at the site of Eridu, an ancient Sumerian city in southern Iraq.
His son-in-law assured AFP that James Fitton wanted to bring these fragments back to ” memory “. His guides gave him the green light, as these pieces were worthless. His relatives expect him to appear in court after May 8, after the Fitr holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. According to a security source at Baghdad airport, the Briton is ” subject of an investigation » and will not be judged before the end of this procedure.
British Embassy in contact with local authorities
Asked by AFP, the director of the Iraqi Council for Antiquities and Heritage, Laith Majid Hussein, indicated that James Fitton had been arrested in possession of ” various pieces from archaeological sites “. The British Embassy in Baghdad acknowledged, without giving further details, bringing ” consular support for a Briton in Iraq “, ensuring to be” in contact with local authorities “.
The family exchanges daily WhatsApp messages with the sixty-year-old who “ for nearly six weeks has been in a cell at the airport “, according to Sam Tasker. After decades of conflict and lootingIraq is timidly opening up to world tourism and, despite almost non-existent tourist infrastructures, welcomes Western travellers.
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(With AFP)