Alleged smuggler refuses Sana’a University’s antiquities report

Jordanian Samir Jad Allah, who is accused in one of the most famous cases of antiquities smuggling in Yemen, objected to the new report made by the Antiquities Department, Faculty of Art in Sana’a University on the items he allegedly smuggled.  The committee prepared a comprehensive assessment of pieces seized with the accused, in order to prove their value and that they are truly Yemeni antiquities.  On April 9, the Secretariat Appeals Court asked the dean of the Faculty of Art in Sana'a University to prepare a report by Professor Ebrahim al-Mota, head of Antiquities Department and Dr. Abdu-Hakim Shaif Mohammed, professor of historical antiquities, to investigate the pieces seized with the accused. 

Experts did not have the order from the dean of the Faculty of Art to start doing the report, as it was ordered by the Secretariat Appeals Court, said Jad Allah.  Jad Allah  also claimed that a committee was supposed to be formed of at least three people, and a leader, and this did not happen, since only two experts investigated the pieces. "The committee who suppose to do the report did not attend the in front of the court to vow before doing the report as it supposed in the law," said Jad Allah.  In 2005, authorities seized a kilogram of Hemeri gold in the form of bracelets and eardrops from Jad Allah’s home, in addition to a set of antique stone and bronze objects dating back to all Yemeni ancient historical eras. 

Judge Malek al-Marwani from the East Secretariat Court found him guilty in the middle of 2005, and did not jail him, but imposed a fine of YR 10,000 and obliged the General Authority for Antiquities to pay him for the objects seized with him.  Jad Allah appeared before the courts with his two Yemeni friends, Amin al-Ba'dani and Mohammed Shamlah. All three men were charged with trafficking the contraband artifacts.  He was found after an extensive governmental campaign at the beginning of 2005 against smugglers of antiquities in Yemen. The group of smugglers included 23 people, mostly from various Arab countries. He claimed he was not informed of the time when they were investigated so that he did not attend. 

The court decided to oblige the Antiquities Prosecution to respond to the objection in the coming session rescheduled for July 16 of this year.   The report examined a kilogram of old Yemeni gold and a number of stone and bronze pieces seized with the accused.    It showed that these parts were extracted from a Yemeni cemetery or temple during an archaeological excavation, and that these pieces were tampered with. These pieces may date back to between prehistoric times and the Islamic century. This is indicated by the Mosnad line, which is a Yemeni pen marking used on a large number of those pieces. 

In addition to the monetary significance of the archaeological pieces, the committee said in the examination report that the archaeological group seized in the case is of an important and great history.  The tampering with these objects has caused the loss of much important information from the location of the original graves, said the report.   Jad Allah refused to accept a previous report prepared by the General Authority for Antiquities, because he didn’t feel it was created by experts in the field. He demanded that the court form of a neutral committee specialized in the examination of the antiquities pieces. The new report is in response to that demand. 

Related Content

•  Tribesmen abduct SJC head's brother
•  7 people arrested for possession of weapons
•  Al Qaeda member arrested
•  70 Ethiopians arrested in Yemen
•  Five killed, three wounded in floods
•  Eritrean pirates hijack 4 Yemeni fishing boats
•  Eritrean pirates capture 6 Yemeni fishing boats
•  Diesel smuggler seized in Hadramout
•  Documentaries enhance youths’ voice
•  Two and half tons of corrupt goods spoiled, municipality director of Addalea