Appeal trial in case of stolen Edvard Munch works draws to a close

Mar 29, 2007, 14:35 GMT

Oslo - Proceedings in the appeal trial of five men convicted of involvement in the 2004 theft of two masterpieces by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch drew to an end Thursday.

Judge Dag Stousland was slated to deliver his instructions to the 10-member jury on Friday before they begin their deliberations.

All the defendants pleaded not guilty when the appeal trial began on February 20.

In his closing arguments earlier this week, Prosecutor Moren Hojem Ervik urged the jury to convict all five men, and said four of them should be sentenced for aggravated robbery.

Among the five was Stian Skjold, 31, whom the prosecution alleged was one of the two armed robbers who entered the Munch Museum in August 2004 and stole the paintings titled: The Scream and The Madonna.

They then disappeared in a car, which was later found. Skjold's alleged accomplice later died of a drug overdose.

The alleged driver of the getaway car, Petter Tharaldsen and Bjorn Hoen, who the prosecution said masterminded the heist, were also in court.

Defence attorneys maintained that the investigation and evidence presented against their clients was shoddy.

'In this case, Norwegian society has sacrificed the legal rights of the individual for art,' said defence lawyer Morten Furuholmen, who defended Hoen. The 30-year-old was last year sentenced to seven years in jail.

Details of how police recovered the two masterpieces from an Oslo warehouse in August 2006 remained sealed despite appeals from the defence.

Conservators said the paintings had suffered irreparable damage when they were ripped from the walls but the damage was not evident to an untrained eye.

Munch, who lived from 1863 to 1944, is considered one of Europe's most important expressionist artists. He made several versions of the two recovered works.