Baghdad (CNN) – A 66-year-old Briton has been sentenced to 15 years in prison in Iraq after being found guilty of stealing antiques while on an archeological tour of the country, his lawyer said.
Fitton’s family, who say they fear the retired geologist may die while serving his sentence, said she was “shattered” by Monday’s verdict and has urged the UK government to release him.
According to a request initiated by his family, Fitton was arrested on March 20 at Baghdad International Airport when customs officials found 12 fragments in his luggage. The fragments were sent to the Iraqi National Museum for analysis and were classified as artifacts, the petition says.
Fitton was accused of attempting to smuggle artifacts out of the country under Iraq’s ancient laws.
A German man also arrested in March, Volker Waldmann, was acquitted for lack of evidence and was released on Monday, according to Thair Soud, Fitton’s lawyer.
On the petition page, Fitton’s family said he was on a geology and archeology tour of the ancient southern city of Eridu when he collected the 12 fragments. They said there were no guards or signs prohibiting the removal of objects.
Soud says his client did not know what the objects were and they had been extracted from a landfill in an archeological site. He said his client loves the stones and collects them from all the places he visits, claiming he had no criminal intent.
The decision will be appealed, Soud says.
“We are absolutely devastated by this news,” Fitton’s family told CNN. “For a man of Jim’s age, 15 years in an Iraqi prison is tantamount to a death sentence. Especially for such a trivial and dubious crime, a crime of which Jim was not even aware when he committed it.”
“We are completely saddened that our best efforts, strong legal defense and constant campaigning have led to this result.”
The family also spoke of frustration over the lack of support from UK authorities to help with Fitton’s situation.
“We are disappointed, in fact, surprised by the total inaction of our own government in this case so far,” they said. “We are calling for and will continue to fight for Jim’s freedom and urge the government to support us in every way possible and to open lines of communication with us at a higher level.”
Asked about the Fitton case, a spokesman for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office told CNN: “We are providing consular assistance to a British national in Iraq and we continue to support his family. We are in contact with local authorities “.
Top image: Jim Fitton, in the center, was found guilty of attempted anti-smuggling. German tourist Volker Waldmann was rightly found not guilty for lack of evidence. Credit: Hadi Mizban / AP
Tasmiyah Randeree in Abu Dhabi and Benjamin Brown in London contributed to this story