Dutch Court Postpones Verdict On 'Scythian Gold' Case To October 26 - Spokeswoman

AMSTERDAM (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd September, 2021) The Amsterdam Court of Appeal has postponed the delivery of a verdict in the so-called Scythian Gold case to October 26, court spokeswoman Melissa Zijlstra told Sputnik on Thursday.

"The court ruling in the Crimean treasure case was set for September 14, 2021. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, it will not be possible to deliver a verdict on that day. The decision will be postponed until October 26, 2021," Zijlstra said.

A collection of Scythian gold from four Crimean museums, consisting of about 2,000 artifacts, was taken for an exhibition at the Allard Pearson Museum in Amsterdam in early February 2014.

After the peninsula's reunification with Russia in March, the Dutch museum opted not to transfer the artifacts to either Ukraine or Crimea pending the decision of a competent judge or an agreement between the parties. Part of the collection from the Kiev Museum of Historical Treasures was, however, returned.

According to the Amsterdam District Court verdict delivered on December 14, 2016, the collection should be transferred to Kiev. Crimea, however, challenged the decision and changed its lawyers. In July 2019, an interim court ruling established that the 1970 UNESCO convention, to which Ukraine had previously referred, was not applicable to this case.