A major Swiss-Egyptian antiquity smuggling saga finally comes to an end. Nevine El-Aref reports on the sentencing of Tareq El-Seweisi Last Thursday, a Cairo Criminal Court sentenced Tareq El-Seweisi to 35 years in prison for his role in the smuggling of over 300 Ancient Egyptian antiquities. The smuggling conviction was just one of the things El-Seweisi -- who used his position as the former head of the National Democratic Party's Giza district office to help advance his scheme -- was convicted for. Falsifying documents, possession of drugs and unlicensed weapons, and money laundering -- to the tune of LE33 million, $16 million, 111,000 euros and 971,000 Swiss francs -- were also amongst the crimes El-Seweisi was convicted of. The yearlong trial also resulted in 26 other defendants receiving prison sentences ranging from one to 20 years each. Ten foreigners -- from Switzerland, Germany, Canada, Kenya and Lebanon -- were tried in absentia and sentenced to 15 years in jail and LE50,000 in fines. The scheme involved the carrying out of illegal excavations at several archaeological sites, and taking possession of countless authentic artefacts, which were then disguised to look like replicas sold at Khan Al-Khalili and other bazaars. By bribing government officials to gain access to the VIP gates at Cairo Airport, thereby circumventing luggage inspection procedures, the artefacts were taken out of Egypt, and then sold on the global antiquities market with the help of foreign accomplices. When state security officers arrested El-Seweisi in April 2003; they found a number of genuine artefacts in his luxurious villa in the Al-Mansoureya district outside of Cairo. At the same time, as part of a separate investigation into suspected theft, receipt of stolen property and fraud, a police force in Switzerland raided a duty-free warehouse in Geneva and seized 300 artefacts, including Pharaonic sarcophagi, mummies, statues, reliefs, pots and other pieces. Swiss authorities granted the unidentified owner 10 days to come up with the proper documentation for the seized goods. When nobody came forward during this grace period Switzerland promised to return the objects back to Egypt. Culture Minister Farouk Hosni described the case as a shining example of positive cooperation between Egypt and Switzerland in the fight against antiquities smugglers. The 300 pieces span the spectrum of Egyptian history, from the prehistoric to Pharaonic, Hellenic, Graeco-Roman, Coptic and Islamic eras. The SCA is planning a special exhibition to showcase the pieces -- which came back to Egypt in 11 boxes weighing 1,300 kilogrammes and included two mummies, several sarcophagi of different shapes, as well as statues, mummy masks, chandeliers and other items. El-Seweisi was also fined LE400 million. His accomplices included customs officials, two police colonels and officials with the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) from the Upper Egyptian cities of Luxor and Aswan. Five of the defendants were acquitted. Switzerland is a major hub in the international art and antiquities trade, and the case is the first to utilise a 2002 security accord signed between the two countries to prevent illegal trafficking in historical objects.
