Case against former Getty museum curator dropped in Greece (Roundup)

Nov 27, 2007, 11:39 GMT

Athens - A Greek court on Tuesday decided to drop the case against a former curator of the Los Angeles J. Paul Getty Museum who was charged with antiquities smuggling.

The entire case against former curator Marion True was thrown out of court because a 10-year statute of limitations in the US had expired since the stolen antiquities first came to light.

True was initially charged with illegally purchasing a 4th century BC gold funerary wreath and smuggling it out of Greece more than a decade ago while she was antiquities curator for the museum.

The wreath, which was discovered during an illegal dig at an ancient Macedonian tomb in northern Greece, was sold to Getty officials for 1.15 million dollars in 1993.

The wreath was returned to Greece in March.

True's lawyer in Athens argued that his client was also accused of the same offence in European Union member Italy and should thus not be required to stand trial for similar charges in Greece.

The trial was initially supposed to have taken place on November 20 but was postponed after True's lawyer asked for the case to be dismissed. She did not attend the trial.

The US museum has been implicated in an international art smuggling scandal since True was charged last year in Rome with conspiring to deal with looted antiquities.

True is also on trial in Italy on charges of trafficking in stolen antiquities for the Getty. She has denied any wrongdoing. The Los Angeles museum decided to return some 40 artifacts to Italy in August after a long series of negotiations.

Greece is currently cracking down on the illegal trade in ancient artifacts and has vowed to seek the return of all objects which have been proven to be illegally smuggled out of the country.