Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
An explosion and gunfire heard in Turkey’s capital Ankara near the parliament and the ministries.
US House 45-day stopgap funding bill with no aid for Ukraine gets enough votes.
Armenia quickly denied the allegations of killing an Azerbaijani soldier, saying the claim its forces had opened fire on Azerbaijani positions "does not correspond to reality".
Azerbaijan says a soldier was killed by a sniper on the Armenian border.
White House: The US is monitoring a troubling Serbian military deployment along the border of Kosovo that is causing tensions.
White House: Serbia and Kosovo must fulfill their commitments and avoid taking any provocative steps.
White House spokesperson John Kirby urges Serbia to withdraw its forces from its borders with Kosovo.
Hezbollah condemns terrorist blasts carried out against worshippers in Pakistan.
NATO: Decision to deploy additional forces to address the current situation in Kosovo.
Al Mayadeen correspondent reports more than 50 people were injured when a bomb exploded in the Mastung area of the Pakistani province of Balochistan.

Ukrainian goes on trial in France for stealing £1.3mln painting

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 30 Jan 2023 23:50
  • 1 Shares
  • x

A Ukrainian man goes on trial in France after a stolen painting that is worth £1.3 million gets found in Kiev a year later in an unrelated raid.

  • French ambassador to Ukraine Isabelle Dumont speaks during the presentation of the painting
    French Ambassador to Ukraine Isabelle Dumont speaks during the presentation of the painting "Port de la Rochelle" (1915) by French artist Paul Signac (1863-1935) at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Kiev, on April 23, 2019. (AFP)

A Ukrainian man currently standing trial in France on charges that he orchestrated the theft of a €1.5 million (£1.3 million) painting that was found in a home in Kiev a year after it vanished from a Nancy museum.

Le Port de La Rochelle, a painting by Paul Signac, vanished from France's Musée de Beaux-Arts in 2018.

After three individuals slashed the painting with a box cutter, folded it up, and left the museum with it hidden beneath one of their raincoats, the museum personnel was shocked to see an empty frame on the wall.

The artwork vanished without a trace up until Kiev police raided a suspect's house for allegedly being connected to a murder a year later. During the raid, the unidentified suspect informed them that a valuable artwork was hidden in a cabinet and cautioned them to handle it with care.

Related News

More looted artefacts make their way back to Italy from US

Once the painting was found, the suspect allegedly incriminated Vadym Huzhva, 64 years old, who, at the time, was detained in Austria after being indicted for stealing a Renoir painting in Vienna also in 2018. When Huzhva was released in June 2020, he was extradited to France.

Huzhva said, on Monday, in court, which is expected to last two days, "I don’t see how I have anything to do with this. You have no proof of your allegations."

His lawyer further argued, “He’s not on the surveillance film. All you can see are three people who cannot be identified. All the video shows is the time the painting was stolen, but that’s all. He’s being blamed for the theft of a painting in France, which is strange. Without getting into the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, he says it’s a conspiracy.”

In parallel, Nancy Public Prosecutor François Pérain noted, “What surprised us was how unsophisticated the theft was. It was so simple,” adding, “They wore headgear, but they acted with their faces uncovered, entered by the main entrance and left through the same door.”

It is worth noting that Huzhva is also charged with additional crimes, including the loss of two works of art from a Versailles auction house, a painting from Béziers, southern France, in 2018, and a Renoir painting that vanished from a French auction house in the Paris region in 2017.

Read more: Facial technology reveals Madonna & Child painting likely by Raphael

  • Stolen
  • France
  • Ukraine

Most Read

BBC from the front lines in Ukraine: It's bad, counteroffensive failed

BBC from the front lines in Ukraine: It's bad, counteroffensive failed

  • Europe
  • 28 Sep 2023
Zelensky joins Canadian Parliament’s ovation to WWII Nazi soldier

Zelensky joins Canadian Parliament’s ovation to WWII Nazi soldier

  • US & Canada
  • 25 Sep 2023
How Hezbollah Burnt the Naqab Forest, The Abbassiye Landing Operation

Al Mayadeen documentary: How Hezbollah burnt the IOF's Naqab Forest

  • MENA
  • 24 Sep 2023
People carry the coffin of Ukrainian serviceman Bohdan Kobylianskyi who was killed in Donbas, during a funeral ceremony in Dusaniv, Ukraine, Saturday, July 22, 2023 (AP)

Ukraine suffers heavy losses during past 24 hours in Donbass: Report

  • Europe
  • 24 Sep 2023

Coverage

All
Morocco & Libya Disasters

Read Next

All
US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Europe

'Not 1 more cent': Americans are done with funding Ukraine's paychecks

baykar
MENA

Baykar to invest $100mln in three Ukrainian projects, CEO says

The new Iranian destroyer Sahand sails in Gulf waters, in Bandar Abbas, Iran, on December 1, 2018 (Iranian Army via AP)
MENA

Iran navy commander unveils plans for Antarctic permanent presence

The Capitol in Washington, Monday, Sept. 30, 2013, as the government teeters on the brink of a partial shutdown at midnight unless Congress can reach an agreement on funding. (AP)
US & Canada

US government hours from shutdown, funding chaos

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS