A California man was sentenced to a few months in federal jail at present for illegally importing a 2,000-pound historic ground mosaic from Syria to the US.
Decide George W. Hu of the U.S. District Court docket for the Central District of California gave the sentence to 57-year-old Mohamad Yassin Alcharihi. Decide Hu additionally granted the federal government’s utility for a preliminary order of forfeiture for the 15-foot-long, 8-foot-tall Roman mosaic.
The sentence happens greater than a yr after a five-day trial in June 2023, by which a jury discovered Alcharihi responsible of 1 rely of entry of falsely categorized items. The cost carried a statutory most sentence of two years in federal jail.
“It’s uncommon for smugglers of antiquities from the Center East to be caught and prosecutions of such smugglers are uncommon,” United States Lawyer’s Workplace in Los Angeles spokesman Ciaran McEvoy advised ARTnews in an e mail assertion. “We hope at present’s sentence will present antiquities sellers, smugglers, the museum group, and most people that there are penalties—together with jail time—for these crimes.”
The mosaic, estimated to be 2,000 years previous, depicts a narrative from historic Greek and Roman mythology. It depicts Hercules rescuing Prometheus after the god of fireplace had been chained to a rock by his fellow deities for stealing the factor for humanity.
In line with a press launch, Alcharihi illegally imported the Roman mosaic in August 2015 after paying $12,000, however lied to his customs dealer concerning the merchandise. Per the discharge, he mentioned he was “importing ceramic tiles from Turkey valued at lower than $600.”
An X-ray picture of the massive metallic transport container used to move the mosaic, taken by US Customs and Border Safety, confirmed that the massive and heavy Roman artifact was rigorously hidden on the entrance of the container, away from the rear entry doorways, behind a pile of vases.
The mosaic arrived on the Port of Lengthy Seashore as a part of a cargo from Turkey. After it handed via customs, it was shipped by truck to Alcharihi’s house.
Along with the acquisition price, Alcharihi paid $40,000 for restoration companies, had it valued by an antiquity vendor for $100,000 to $200,000, after which emailed the Getty a few attainable sale, in accordance with USC Annenberg Media’s Justice Reporting Mission. A authorities appraisal skilled later valued the mosaic at $450,000.
Federal brokers searched Alcharihi’s house in March 2016, discovering the mosaic within the storage. In the course of the search, Alcharihi admitted to brokers about mendacity concerning the object’s monetary and cultural significance, in accordance with court docket paperwork. After the mosaic was seized, it was transferred to a safe facility in Los Angeles, the place is has been saved for the previous eight years.
The press launch from the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Central District of California famous that Alcharihi’s false classification of the mosaic “occurred months after the United Nations Safety Council adopted a decision condemning the destruction of cultural heritage in Syria, significantly by the terrorist organizations Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Al-Nusrah Entrance.”
The FBI’s Artwork Crime Group and Homeland Safety Investigations investigated this matter.
The destiny of the mosaic post-sentencing continues to be within the air. The LA Press Workplace of the FBI acknowledged to ARTnews there are appeals pending within the Alcharihi case. A spokesperson was unable to touch upon the case or what would occur to the Roman artifact.
Even when there have been the potential for a repatriation course of sooner or later, the looting of museums, warehouses, and archaeological websites in Syria has been an ongoing challenge.
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