CAIRO: Egypt is to try 11 people in connection with the Vincent van Gogh painting that was stolen from a Cairo museum in late August. The $55 million painting has left the country's Culture Ministry in a frenzy to hold someone responsible for the theft. The state-run MENA news agency reported that the 11 people include museum officials and security guards and could face up to three years in jail for “dereliction of duty” and “negligence.” It did not report their source for the alleged prosecution. The painting “Poppy Flowers”, which also goes by “Vase with Flowers” was taken from the Mahmoud Khalil Museum in the Egyptian capital. According to reports, none of the security personal on duty were present and the cameras scanning the rooms were not functioning. The museum was built on the Nile in 1920 as the residence of Egyptian art collector Khalil. The most conservative estimate of the value of the collection is 7 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.2 billion), a government website says. BM
