Geologist jailed in Iraq

He must have known the law in Iraq.
He apparently asked the permission of the Iraqi guide and a policemen who was accompanying them, and they both said it was fine to take the pieces. The judge accepted that he did not act with criminal intent, but in ignorance of the law. The broken pieces of pottery in his suitcase were, apparently, worth next to nothing, so he wasn't trying to smuggle anything of value.

All in all, it seems incredibly harsh.
 
At least he swerved the death penalty which he could have got.
If they were worthless fragments as you say why did he take them? He has visited archealogical sites all over the world. He was a professional geologist. He knew what he was doing.
 
And all the fragments were at least over 200 years old.
And why did he ask the German guy with him to carry some of his artefacts for him in the German's luggage?
 
Even if he is bang to rights it's a minor misdemeanour..
Another political hostage methinks...
 
Perhaps the Iraqis have got fed up with Westerners stripping all their historical sites bare?
Just like the Greeks got fed up with Brits stripping the Parthenon bare etc etc?
And all these Polynesian islands have got fed up with Western "tourists" nicking all their artefacts?
 
You can't run the law on the basis that 'we are fed up', as you presumably know...
You get less for murder here...
 
Distinct lack of common sense, surely your brain goes 'It's Iraq, I don't fancy an Iraqi prison more than I fancy taking some fragments home, don't risk it'.
 
I see there’s two lads from Notts and Beds arrested in Eastern Ukraine who it looks like have been fighting for the Ukrainian army. They’re in Russian territory and are awaiting sentencing which may be 💀.
 
Well what did they expect if they volunteered to fight for Ukraine and got captured by the Russians?
 
The families are not making sense.
They claim these guys are not volunteers or mercenaries and that they are part of the Ukrainian military cos they have lived over there for 3 or 4 years now since 2018.
Then they say they are "fighting hard to bring the boys home".
But surely if they are correct then "home" is Ukraine????
You can't have it both ways.
 
I hate war, what purpose does it serve other than total misery for thousands if not millions of families ?

If Russia take the Donbass, would it be worth it ?
Thousands dead on both sides, and all for a piece of land that's no bigger than a pimple on the size of Russia.
For all the posturing it doesn't make a blind bit of difference. Russia don't want NATO on its border, and how is that relevant when both Russia and the west can send nukes thousands of miles anyway.
Mad world, literally.
 
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Prior to going to Ukraine in 2018 to fight in the Ukrainian army the Notts lad had previously fought in Syria for the Kurds against Islamic State.
Sounds a bit like a mercenary to me.
 
Usually when British nationals get sentenced to death overseas, there's a reasonable hope that diplomatic efforts will get the sentences commuted to a prison term. I'm not so sure in this case...
 
Then there was the anthropologist who found a note in a mummy's hand asking only for peaceful political and social change. It read "Extinct shun rebellion".
 
Now I see Boris wants his ministers to get involved and stop the death sentence and hopefully get them freed.

Why waste all that money and time on it? Put it to better use.
 
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