British geologist gets 15 years' jail in Iraq over 'smuggled artefacts'
Jim, who is a Malaysian permanent resident, was charged under Article 41 of Iraqi Law Number 55.
The 66-year-old was arrested in Iraq back in March for allegedly attempting to smuggle out historical artefacts during a...
Retired British geologist Jim Fitton has been given a 15-year jail sentence by the Iraqi Felony Court yesterday.
Jim, who is a Malaysian permanent resident, was charged under Article 41 of Iraqi Law Number 55.
The 66-year-old was arrested in Iraq back in March for allegedly attempting to smuggle out historical artefacts during a guided trip in the country.
This act is normally punishable by death under Iraqi law.
Following a postponed second trial in May, Jim’s third trial was held in Iraq on June 6.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, his daughter Leila Fitton described her father’s sentence as “an absolute shock for everyone”, especially since the trial had initially progressed well.
“Things were going well during the first trial so we don’t understand how such a harsh sentence can be given. Absolute injustice,” she said.
Leila felt that the verdict, given the circumstances of his previous trials, was unjust.
“The first trial went well, and the second one got postponed.
“So, this is the third one which went really quickly considering they didn’t have a second trial and the first one got cut short, the verdict is absolutely unfair,” she added.
The artefacts Jim allegedly smuggled were small shards of broken pottery.
Leila had described them as debris left on the site deemed of economic or cultural value - which was the description provided to Jim by the tour guides.
She claimed that this led Jim to believe it was acceptable to collect the shards of broken pottery as a souvenir.
Some of the collected objects were said to be “as big as a fingernail”, she added.
“He came across them in an unguarded, non-sign posted desert land in Eridu, south Iraq.
“Even the 40-year experienced tour guides themselves collected 20 pieces of these broken bits of pottery,” Leila previously told Malaysiakini.
On March 20, Jim and a German national Volker Waldmann were arrested at the Baghdad airport for attempted exportation of artefacts with historical significance to Iraq and were remanded in the airport holding cell.
No criminal intent
His daughter today stressed that there was no criminal intent behind his actions - which was agreed upon by judges in Jim’s initial trial.
“There’s absolutely no criminal intent - dad keeps his rocks and finds on our bookshelves.
“Definitely not to sell! Absolutely no criminal intent at all, hence why we’re appealing.
“In the first trial, the judges agreed he had no criminal intent, so this verdict opposes what the judges had initially agreed. Something’s wrong here,” she said.
Leila added that she is unsure what evidence influenced the Iraqi judge to arrive at Jim’s “criminality” before describing the outcome of the trial as “absurd”.
Following his sentence yesterday, Leila said that she was finally able to speak to her father on the phone after months of communicating solely via Whatsapp for three to five minutes a day.
“I managed to call him yesterday for the first time in 93 days! He was shocked more than anything.
“He was so shocked and so was the courtroom because they were so positive leading up to yesterday,” she added.
She previously said that her father allegedly only had limited Whatsapp contact with the family during the remand period as phone calls were not allowed.
Seeking to appeal
Following Jim’s verdict, his family is looking to appeal his sentence.
They are hoping for the support of the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) to back the appeal.
“Yes, we’ve put in an appeal and (are) hoping for the FCDO to back it up.
“They would be shocked with the sentencing too, they should know the sentence is out of proportion.
“We hope they’ll help us now but we’ve been disappointed over and over again,” Leila said.
Prior to the verdict, she had initially pleaded with both the British and Malaysian governments for support on the case. The family have reportedly received limited assistance from the British government.
Leila claimed that Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah, alongside other representatives from Malacca where Jim and his family reside, has contacted the family to offer support on the case.
Saifuddin’s call to Leila was confirmed by sources in the Foreign Ministry.
Malaysiakini is attempting to contact the Foreign Ministry for further comments.
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