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Crimea and Sevastopol

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Crimean official vows to take fight over Scythian gold to Netherlands supreme court

On October 26, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal has ruled that the Scythian Gold collection, which was on view at the Allard Pierson Museum in 2014, should be handed over to Ukraine

SIMFEROPOL, October 26. /TASS/. A cassation appeal to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands against the Amsterdam court's decision on the Scythian gold case will be filed in the near future, Head of the Working Group for International Legal Issues of Crimea's Permanent Mission at the Russian Presidential Office, Alexander Molokhov reported on Tuesday.

“I think that a cassation appeal will be lodged with the Supreme Court of the Netherlands as soon as possible in order to stay the execution of this decision. <…> If I had dealt with this matter directly, we would have filed a complaint tomorrow. A team of Dutch lawyers has been carrying out the work,” he said.

Molokhov noted that he was dissatisfied with those attorneys. “I think we need to replace this team. I have certain complaints about their work. Our working group gave suggestions on this matter to both the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Justice, but, unfortunately, no one listened to us,” he said.

The Amsterdam Court of Appeal has ruled that the Scythian Gold collection should be handed over to Ukraine, Presiding Judge Pauline Hofmeijer-Rutten announced on October 26. According to her, the artifacts in question are “part of the cultural heritage of the Ukrainian State” and should be handed over to Ukraine.

The Scythian Gold collection of over 2,000 items was on display at the Allard Pierson Museum of the University of Amsterdam between February and August 2014. After the peninsula reunited with Russia in March 2014, uncertainty over the collection arose as both Russia and Ukraine laid claims to the exhibits. In this regard, the University of Amsterdam suspended the collection’s handover until either the dispute was legally resolved or the parties came to an agreement.

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Crimea and Sevastopol Ukraine Eastern Ukraine The Netherlands

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