Switzerland returned ancient Mesopotamian artifacts to Iraq

Switzerland has returned three ancient Mesopotamian artifacts to Iraq, which were confiscated in the framework of a criminal case in Geneva. This was reported by the TASS agency. The official ceremony of handing over the artifacts, which took place in Bern, was attended by the Swiss Minister of the Interior, Elisabeth Baume Schneider, and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Iraq, Fouad Hussein. According to the Swiss government, it refers to "B.C. . Two large Assyrian bas-reliefs of the 8th century, from the ancient site of Nimrud Kalhu, as well as a.d. A fragment of a bust of a king of the 2nd-3rd centuries from the ancient city of Hatra." "The returned items belong to the Mesopotamian heritage, which falls under the category of Iraqi cultural assets under threat of extinction. Artifacts were discovered and indexed during official excavations in 1856/57, 1959 and 1976. Later, they were illegally taken from Iraq at an unknown time and under unknown circumstances," explained Bern. These artifacts were seized during a criminal trial in the canton of Geneva in 2023 and then handed over to the Swiss Federal Department of Culture for return to the country of origin. Bern emphasized that "It is the fifth return of (ed: history and culture) objects by Switzerland to Iraq since 2005, and by far the most significant." are participants.