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Crimea and Sevastopol

Amsterdam court postpones hearing on Scythian gold case

The collection of Scythian gold was dispatched to the Netherlands in February 2014 when Crimea was still part of Ukraine

An exhibit of the collection Allard Pierson Museum

An exhibit of the collection

© Allard Pierson Museum

THE HAGUE, November 19 /TASS/. The Amsterdam District Court has postponed the hearing on the Scythian gold case, the court's representative Fatima El Gueriri told TASS on Thursday.

"The sides continue their correspondence through the court," she said.

According to El Gueriri, the next written reaction of the sides is expected by December 30.

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The collection of Scythian gold, featuring 550 exhibits from five museums, one in Kiev and four in Crimea, was dispatched to the Netherlands in February 2014 to be exhibited at the Allard Pierson Museum in Amsterdam when Crimea was still part of Ukraine. Later in 2014, when Crimea reunified with Russia, the museum decided not to return the gold to either Ukraine or Russia and urged an official investigation that would identify the owner.

The exhibits provided by the Kiev museum returned to Ukraine in September 2014.

In April 2014, the Amsterdam District Court recognized Ukraine to be a litigating party in the dispute because the Ukrainian state was claiming its rights to the disputable artifacts.

In November 2014, four Crimean museums, including the Tavrida Central Museum, the Kerch Historical and Cultural Reserve, the Bakhchisaray Historical and Cultural Reserve and the Khersones Tavrichesky National Reserve, filed a combined lawsuit with Amsterdam's court seeking the Scythian gold’s return.

Crimea believes it has every right to claim the exhibits because they have been found in the peninsula’s territory and have been kept in its museums.

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Crimea and Sevastopol The Netherlands

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