In Victory For Museums, Judge Says Relics Can't Be Seized To Pay $412 Million Iran Judgment
Source: Associated Press
By MICHAEL TARM | Associated Press | 35 minutes ago
CHICAGO (AP) — Survivors of a 1997 terrorist bombing blamed partly on Iran can't seize thousands of relics from U.S. museums to pay a $412 million judgment against the Iranian government, a federal judge in Chicago ruled Friday.
The case targeting the Persian antiquities at the Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute was closely watched nationwide by other museum officials, who feared a ruling against the Chicago museums could set an alarming precedent that might put their own collections at risk.
"I am very pleased," said Matt Stolper, who oversees Persian collections at the Oriental Institute. "I'm happy these (artifacts) don't need to be surrendered to be turned into money."
The decade-old case stems from a suicide bomb attack at a Jerusalem mall, where explosives packed with rusty nails, screws and glass killed five people and injured nearly 200 others, some seriously.
Read more: http://www.newser.com/article/381dcade26c24b119587710d6a9f35dc/in-victory-for-museums-judge-says-relics-cant-be-seized-to-pay-412-million-iran-judgment.html
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