Egypt is set to take back 114 priceless artefacts smuggled to France and three smuggled to the UK.
Officials from the country have travelled to Paris to retrieve the items from French authorities and return them home, the Public Prosecution office said on Thursday.
Teams from both countries had spent months tracking down the artefacts.
Dr Mostafa Waziri, director general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, inspected the items and determined that they cover a range of Egypt’s history.
The Egyptian ambassador in France, Alaa Youssef, called the effort an “unprecedented win for bilateral relations” during a ceremony at the embassy.
He said that there had been a major increase in co-operation between the judiciaries of both countries in the last two years and that this had helped them to retrieve the artefacts.
Shortly after the announcement that the items were being brought back to Egypt from France, the Tourism and Antiquities Ministry announced that three smuggled Egyptian artefacts were being recovered from London.
The items were located with the help of the British Museum, which is assisting in returning them to Cairo.
The artefacts, dating from the Pharaonic and Greek age, were sold in London after being smuggled out of Egypt before being recovered by British officials.
Egypt’s prosecutor general, Hamada El Sawy, said the country has been grappling with smuggling of antiquities for millennia and that co-operation was the way to fight the crime.
He said such smuggling was “on every Egyptian’s mind due to the cultural and ancestral importance these relics hold”.
Egyptian security forces, he said, will be implementing better measures to stop further smuggling out of Egypt.
The crime is punishable with 25 years in prison, with no statute of limitations.
Those convicted of carrying out unlawful excavations on Egyptian soil with the intention of smuggling can receive up to 10 years in prison.
The law also stipulates a jail sentence of between three and seven years and a fine of up to EGP 500,000 ($31,908) for destroying, damaging or altering in any way the original features of a historical artefact.
An antiquities ministry statement from 2018 said that 32,638 artefacts had been lost in the last 50 years.
Despite the government’s efforts to repatriate smuggled artefacts, a large number of Egyptian relics are regularly sold publicly through some of the world’s most prominent auction houses, leading Egyptologist Bassam El Shamaa told The National.
“What is often overlooked when discussing artefact smuggling out of Egypt is the sheer size of the problem,” he said. “It’s not just a couple of pieces that have been stolen, it’s thousands of important artefacts that are constantly being smuggled out and then sold to anonymous buyers. When these pieces are sold, they become virtually untraceable and an important piece of our heritage is lost.”
Mr El Shamaa, who has led multiple national media campaigns to draw attention to the issue of smuggling, explains that there is much more that needs to be done to protect artefacts in Egypt on the government’s part.
“Simple security measures like installing cameras at warehouses, employing round the clock security and cordoning off heritage sites can go a long way,” he said.
He said that the illegal antiquities market is huge and international, likening it to the international drug market.
“Smuggling is not the work of a couple of thieves, it is an international network of criminals who have got quite good at evading security officials. And Egypt is one of the most well-stocked countries when it comes to antiquities,” he said.
CT scanning the mummy of Ankhekhonsu – in pictures
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 20: 11am to 7pm - Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival and Para jiu-jitsu.
Sunday, April 21: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (female) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Monday, April 22: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (male) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Tuesday, April 23: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Wednesday, April 24: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Thursday, April 25: 11am-5pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Friday, April 26: 3pm to 6pm Finals of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Saturday, April 27: 4pm and 8pm awards ceremony.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Tottenham v Ajax, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Ajax v Tottenham, Wednesday, May 8, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
The years Ramadan fell in May
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, semi-final result:
Liverpool 4-0 Barcelona
Liverpool win 4-3 on aggregate
Champions Legaue final: June 1, Madrid
If you go
The flights
There are various ways of getting to the southern Serengeti in Tanzania from the UAE. The exact route and airstrip depends on your overall trip itinerary and which camp you’re staying at.
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Kilimanjaro International Airport from Dh1,350 return, including taxes; this can be followed by a short flight from Kilimanjaro to the Serengeti with Coastal Aviation from about US$700 (Dh2,500) return, including taxes. Kenya Airways, Emirates and Etihad offer flights via Nairobi or Dar es Salaam.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The specs
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Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
