Crimean treasures must be sent back to Ukraine, Dutch court rules

A visitor looks at an exhibit at the «Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea» exhibition at the Allard Pearson Museum in Amsterdam. Photo: Bart. Maat/Getty

Crimean gold, art and treasures must be sent back to Ukraine, not to the Russian-occupied peninsula, Dutch Supreme Court rules.

A valuable collection is currently kept in the Amsterdam Allard. The Pearson Museum is part of Ukrainian cultural heritage, the statement said, as it upheld the 2021 appeal court decision.

About 300 artifacts, some over 2,000 years old, were loaned from four museums in Crimea to exhibition when Russia illegally annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014.

This caused controversy over the treasury and whether it should be repatriated to Ukraine or Russian-held territory.

“This decision ends this dispute. The Allard Pearson Museum should return these art treasures to the state of Ukraine, and not to the museums of Crimea,” the court said.

returned to Ukraine by court decision Photo: Bart Maat/Getty

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called this decision an example of Dutch «leadership in the defense of international law.»

He thanked Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for the planned return » Scythian gold.

«Allard Pearson can now act on the Supreme Court's decision,» said the museum, which has reportedly spent nearly half a million euros in storage and legal fees in a protracted dispute.

In exhibition promotional materials under titled «Crimea: Gold and the Secrets of the Black Sea», the artifacts were described as «impressive archaeological finds».

These included a gold scabbard and a ceremonial helmet, as well as precious stones that museums in Crimea demanded to return.< /p>Russia threatens

Russia has threatened to cut off the Netherlands from future exhibit loans if the exhibits are not sent back.

In 2016, an Amsterdam court ruled that the exhibits must be returned to Ukraine, and the dispute must be referred to local judges.

Crimean museums appealed the decision, which was upheld by a higher court before it was upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday.

It is not yet clear when the objects may be returned, given the war in Ukraine.