Syria recovers three artifacts stolen from Palmyra

Geneva (ST): Ambassador Husam El-Din Ala, the permanent representative of Syria to the United Nations Office and International Organizations in Geneva, received from the Swiss Museum of Art and History three artifacts stolen from a site in Palmyra. The artifacts have been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1980.

 Ambassador Ala said in a statement that the three pieces that were received as part of the continuous efforts to follow up on the stolen artifacts from the Syrian Arab Republic and restore them in coordination between the Ministry of Culture and the Foreign and Expatriate Ministry, are two large stone panels that include a statue, a lion’s head, artistic decorations and a cylindrical statue of a priest’s head. The Swiss authorities confiscated it in 2016 after investigations into its smuggling and illegal entry into its territory, and decided to deposit it at the Museum of Art and History in Geneva until it was returned to its country of origin.

The return of these smuggled artifacts of artistic and historical value is the culmination of the efforts made by Syria represented by the Consulate General and the Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva, through a judicial and diplomatic process with the Swiss authorities and the authorities of the Geneva Canton, which led to the signing of an agreement between the two parties to return the aforementioned artifacts.

In a joint statement issued in Geneva, the two sides condemned the illegal trade in antiquities and cultural property and stressed the importance of raising awareness to it when it happens and cooperating in confronting it.