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
Russian agency: Russia will conduct a nuclear test if the US does
Al-Nakhalah: We are the rightful owners, and we must fight to retrieve our rights
Al-Nakhalah: The enemy and its allies must know that we can never surrender to their terms and diktats after all the sacrifices made
Al-Nakhalah: The prisoner exchange clause can be completed in the next few days, and thus we will have pulled the [explosion] fuse and removed the enemy's justifications for aggression
Al-Nakhalah: The Resistance has expressed its willingness to negotiate on the basis that there are items that can be dealt with positively, the first of which is the prisoner exchange item
Al-Nakhalah: Trump's plan entails the Palestinian people's declaration of complete surrender to the enemy
PIJ Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah, in an address aired on Al Mayadeen: The Resistance is engaging in a fierce negotiating battle under the so-called Trump plan
Russian Federation Council approves joint military cooperation agreement with Cuba
Al-Nunu: Today, the lists of prisoners required to be released, the agreed-upon criteria and numbers, were exchanged
Al-Nunu from Sharm el-Sheikh: Negotiations focused on mechanisms for implementing an end to the war, the withdrawal of occupation forces from the Gaza Strip, and the exchange of prisoners

US to return 30 stolen ancient Cambodian antiques

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 9 Aug 2022 07:49
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

Cambodian artifacts will be returned to the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh.

  • x
  • US to return 30 stolen ancient Cambodian antiques
    The stolen items on display during an announcement of the repatriation in New York City, US, on August 8, 2022. (Reuters)

Washington will be returning 30 stolen antiques to Cambodia, including bronze and stone statues of Hindu and Buddhist deities which were carved over a thousand years ago, according to US officials. 

Cambodia, between the civil conflicts of the 1960s and the 1990s, suffered looting in its archaeological sites, including Koh Ker, the capital of the Khmer empire, which existed between the 9th and the 15th centuries.

Since then, Cambodia has been looking to retrieve and repatriate the stolen antiques sold on the international market.

Read next: Germany returns borrowed artifacts to Iraqi embassy in Berlin

The top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, Damian Williams, said the items being returned were sold by Douglas Latchford to Western buyers. Latchford is notorious for issuing fake documents to conceal that the antiques were looted and smuggled. 

The antiques, Williams said, include a 10th-century sandstone statue depicting Skanda, the Hindu god of war, riding on a peacock, in addition to Ganesha, a sculpture that was voluntarily relinquished by US museums and private collectors after his office filed forfeiture claims. According to the US attorney's office, both antiques were stolen from Koh Ker. 

Williams, at a ceremony in Manhattan, explained: “These statues and artifacts… are of extraordinary cultural value to the Cambodian people.”

An acting special agent in homeland border security, Ricky J Patel, remarked that the sculptures were “extraordinary beauty and craftsmanship”.

Read next: Germany to return stolen Nigerian Benin Bronzes

“These antiquities we return today were ripped from their country … many are sacred artifacts pried from temples and palaces to be smuggled across borders and peddled by those seeking profit, without any regard to the intangible value they have to the people of their homeland,” he said in a statement.

Related News

US travel industry loses $1B amid prolonged government shutdown

Trump open to attending Gaza ceasefire deal ceremony in ME: Rubio

The National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh will be hosting the antiques, according to Cambodia's US ambassador, Keo Chhea, speaking to Reuters.

“It’s like a returning of the souls of our culture back to our people,” Chhea added. “We’re very grateful.”

Acting special agent for homeland security investigations, Ricky Patel, remarked that the antiques had ‘extraordinary beauty and craftsmanship’.

Read next: Did “Israel” steal a Bansky painting again?

UK to return 72 looted artifacts to Nigeria

On Monday, a London museum announced its decision to return 72 treasured artifacts, including its collection of Benin bronzes, to Nigeria in what experts described as an “immensely significant” moment.

The Horniman Museum announced it would transfer the ownership of the historic objects to the Nigerian government after a final vote by its board of trustees.

Series of artifact repatriation

Named the Museum of the Year in July, the return of the stolen artifacts marks the first government-funded institution to hand back treasures looted by British forces from Benin City more than 200 years ago. 

About 10,000 objects looted during the raid on Benin are held in 165 museums and many private collections across the world. The British Museum in London holds 900 objects, considered the largest collection in the world. 

The objects include a brass cockerel altarpiece, ivory and brass ceremonial objects, brass bells, everyday items such as fans and baskets, and a key “to the king’s palace." Last year, the New York MET Museum returned three brass artifacts to Nigeria and in another series of artifact repatriation, stolen antiques were sent back to Italy after being trafficked in the US. 

Oxford and Cambridge Universities, holding hundreds of the artifacts in their own libraries, declared last week that they would return more than 200 between them.

Prof Dan Hicks, professor of contemporary archaeology at the University of Oxford, described the announcement as “immensely significant”.

He said: “It comes hot on the heels of the announcement from Oxford and Cambridge. They were the largest commitment we’d seen from the UK so far.

  • Cambodia
  • United States
  • Khmer Empire

Most Read

Tucker Carlson speaks at a memorial for Charlie Kirk, Sunday, September 21, 2025, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (AP)

Tucker Carlson: Israeli officers gave orders on Iran inside Pentagon

  • Politics
  • 2 Oct 2025
A Hamas fighter in combat fatigues stands before the ceremony for the handover of Israeli captives to the Red Cross in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip, Saturday, February 22, 2025 (AP)

Hamas responds to Trump plan, backs Gaza withdrawal, exchange

  • Politics
  • 3 Oct 2025
Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder revealed

Mossad’s secret role in Aldo Moro’s 1978 murder exposed

  • Politics
  • 5 Oct 2025
Al-Quds Brigades strike a command and control center north of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, in an undated screengrab from the al-Quds Brigades military media

Gaza resistance announces major operations against Israeli forces

  • Politics
  • 1 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Retired Israeli General Brik says Israel has reached point of no return.
Politics

Retired Israeli General Brik: 'Israel has reached point of no return'

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation
Politics

Depleted by foreign wars, US seeks to re-arm for another confrontation

Gaza’s newborns gasp for life as hospitals collapse amid Israeli war
Health

Gaza newborns gasp for life, share oxygen masks amid collapsed system

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls
Politics

UK arms exports to 'Israel' reach record high despite ban calls

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