A retired British geologist is at risk of facing the death penalty in Iraq over smuggling allegations.
A petition urging the release of father-of-two Jim Fitton, 66, has received more than 97,000 signatures in the three days since it was launched.
His daughter Leila and her husband Sam Tasker, from Bath, in Somerset, have said the sentencing this month is expected to coincide with a long-planned celebration of their wedding.
“There is never a good time for something like this to happen but we are one week away from what should be the happiest day of our lives, and the culmination of more than two years of planning, and it’s been turned into an absolute living nightmare," they said.
“We have accepted the fact that, without timely intervention from the FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), Jim will be unable to attend this ceremony too.”
Mr Fitton has been detained in Iraq for five weeks after being accused of attempting to smuggle historic artefacts out of the country.
His family said Mr Fitton collected stones and shards of broken pottery as souvenirs while visiting a site in Eridu, in the country’s south-east, as part of an organised geology and archaeology tour.
But they added the items were judged to be artefacts under Iraqi law and the charge levelled at Mr Fitton states “whoever exported or intended to export, deliberately, an antiquity, from Iraq, shall be punishable with execution”.
His case in connection with the March incident is expected to go for sentencing in the week beginning May 8.
Mr Fitton’s family described the response to the petition as “unbelievable”, They added in a statement: “Jim really appreciates the support from old colleagues, good friends, kindred spirits, and complete strangers who have not allowed this to go unnoticed.
“We will continue to fight while we continue to have you at our backs.”
Mr Fitton worked as a geologist for oil and gas companies during his career and lives in his adopted home of Malaysia with his wife, Sarijah.
Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, has raised his case with ministers in the House of Commons.
The family said their lawyer has drafted a proposal under Iraqi law to have the case closed before trial, but they need the Foreign Office to “put their weight behind the plan and endorse it” so they can secure a high-level meeting with judicial officials in the country.
The proposal cites the “clear lack of criminality, that Jim is a victim of poor guidance and circumstance, and also cites the huge investment that the UK has made in the Iraqi governmental and judicial framework through FCDO funding in the past few years”.
The family statement, via an update on the petition website, also explained: “Leila has not seen Jim for more than two years due to Covid travel restrictions.
“We held a small Covid wedding ceremony in Bath in August of last year for close friends and our British family members, mostly on my side.
“We have, since then, been planning a larger celebration in Malaysia with all of Leila’s extended family.
“This is scheduled on May 8. Obviously there is never a good time for something like this to happen, but we are one week away from what should be the happiest day of our lives, and the culmination of more than two years of planning, and it’s been turned into an absolute living nightmare.”
“It’s impossible to imagine what Jim and his family are going through, especially as Sam and Leila are planning their wedding," said Ms Hobhouse.
“We are pressing the Foreign Office to intervene, but sadly they are continuing to refuse. I cannot understand why the Foreign Office is not intervening when Jim’s life lies in the balance.
“The Foreign Office must do everything in their power to bring Jim back home to his family.”
The Foreign Office has said it is providing consular support and is in contact with the local authorities.
“We understand the urgency of the case, and have already raised our concerns with the Iraqi authorities regarding the possible imposition of the death penalty in Mr Fitton’s case and the UK’s opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances as a matter of principle,” said Foreign Office minister, Amanda Milling, in a letter to Ms Hobhouse last week.
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Asia Cup Qualifier
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How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
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