Date set for Chinese villagers’ Dutch court battle over ownership of 1,000-year-old ‘stolen’ gilded statute
Lawsuit against Dutch antiques collector, who claims ownership of Song dynasty relic that Fujian residents say was stolen in 1995, to take place in July
A lawsuit brought by villagers against a Dutch antiques collector, who refuses to return what they claim is a stolen 1,000-year-old statue containing the mummified remains of a Buddhist monk, will take place in the Netherlands in July.
The announcement by a court in Amsterdam on Thursday comes two years after villagers in Yangchun, Fujian province, began efforts to repatriate the statue after spotting it on television while it was being exhibited in Hungary.
They believe the statue was stolen from their village temple in 1995.
The case has formally accepted by the court last June, but the hearing has been delayed twice by collector, Oscar van Overeem, so that he could gather evidence, Xinhua reported.
The villagers went through official and private channels to try to negotiate its return with him, who claims ownership of the statue, but they failed to reach any agreement.
Xinhua reported that a judge would hear the arguments of the villagers and the collector, but would not issue an immediate judgment in the case.