Iran sues over looted graves
LONDON -- A collection of 5,000-year-old grave relics, allegedly looted from recently discovered desert sites, was at the centre of a High Court lawsuit brought by the Iranian Government yesterday against a London gallery.
Iran is suing the Barakat Galleries, seeking to recover carved objects said to have been taken from the ancient city of Jiroft in the Halil River Valley in southeastern Iran.
The grave goods were “almost unheard-of” until 2001, said Hodge Malek, Iran’s QC. He added that many of the ancient graves were plundered or “emptied of their contents” between 2000 and 2001 in what he described as a complex chain of supply.
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Iran is suing the Barakat Galleries, seeking to recover carved objects said to have been taken from the ancient city of Jiroft in the Halil River Valley in southeastern Iran.
The grave goods were “almost unheard-of” until 2001, said Hodge Malek, Iran’s QC. He added that many of the ancient graves were plundered or “emptied of their contents” between 2000 and 2001 in what he described as a complex chain of supply.