Foreign Ambassadors Visit Ancient Artifacts Returned to Iran from Belgium

on February 10, 2015 | 5:47:46

The ambassadors of foreign countries in Iran visited the ancient Iranian artifacts returned to the country from Belgium after decades of legal battles.

An appeals court in Belgium’s eastern city of Liege ruled in December 2014 that the country’s authorities restitute 349 smuggled artifacts to Iran.

The court ordered that the historical objects, which have been kept at a museum in the European country for decades, be given back to Iran.

After the Iranian government was informed of the existence of this antique collection in a Museum in Ghent, Belgium, it filed a lawsuit in the Belgian courts in 1981 and made the claims that these artifacts had been illegally transferred out of the country, belonged to the government of Iran, and as such must be returned home.

On January 15 , Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani opened an exhibition at the National Museum of Iran, showcasing these artifacts.

The invaluable antiquities had been discovered in Khurvin, a rural area at Iran’s northern province of Alborz, about 50 years ago.

The historical objects, dating back to 2000 B.C., had been discovered by a French woman and were later smuggled out of Iran by a Belgian diplomat, according to the Iranian officials.