Latest news with #JulienMoinil
Russia Today
14-07-2025
- Russia Today
EU state returns 2,000-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt
Belgium has formally returned a roughly 2,000-year-old wooden sarcophagus to Egypt after a decade-long investigation and legal proceedings, authorities in Brussels announced on Friday. The move marked the latest in a series of repatriations of stolen cultural relics to the North African country in recent years. The artifact – dating back to Egypt's Ptolemaic era, when the country was ruled by a Greek dynasty – was recovered after authorities found it had been smuggled into Belgium via illegal art networks. It was seized in 2015 by customs after an Interpol alert from Cairo. The coffin had since been held at Brussels' Royal Museum of Art and History, pending legal verification. A statement from the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office said the wooden sarcophagus, shaped in the image of a mummified male, 'undoubtedly belonged to a member of Egyptian high society.' It said the artifact's 'golden face and bluish hair are divine attributes, indicating that the deceased transformed into the form of the god Osiris, ruler of the underworld.' The hieroglyphs – ancient Egyptian pictorial script – carved on the sarcophagus helped identify the man once buried inside as Pa-di-Hor-pa-khered, it added. It was handed over to Egypt's ambassador to Belgium, Ahmed Abu Zeid, during a formal ceremony in the nation's capital on Friday. A ceremonial wooden beard was also returned. Belgian public prosecutor Julien Moinil hailed the restitution as 'truly an act of justice' coming 'after 10 years of investigation and proceedings.' The return comes as part of a broader campaign by Egyptian authorities to recover looted cultural property from European museums and academic collections. In May, France handed over seven rare artifacts —including a wooden statue of Anubis and ancient papyrus scrolls — following a Paris court ruling. Earlier, Germany returned 67 objects, among them a mummified foot, and funerary masks to Cairo. Ireland's University College Cork repatriated a painted wooden coffin, along with ritual jars and cartonnage fragments, after an agreement reached during Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's state visit to Dublin last December.
Arab News
12-07-2025
- Arab News
Belgium returns 2,000-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt
BRUSSELS: Belgian authorities on Friday said they had handed over a roughly 2,000-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt, a decade after it was seized by police in Brussels. Prosecutors said the artefact — along with a piece of an ancient wooden beard — was presented to the Egyptian ambassador at a ceremony in the Belgian capital. 'After 10 years of investigation and proceedings, it is a true act of justice to return to its country of origin an item that was misappropriated from its heritage,' said Julien Moinil, the Brussels public prosecutor. The artefacts were seized by Belgian police in 2015 after Interpol issued a notice following a request from a court in Egypt, prosecutors said. They were housed in the meantime at the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels. A statement said that the wooden sarcophagus, which dates back to the Ptolemaic period between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, 'undoubtedly belonged to a member of Egyptian high society.' 'The choice of materials and the meticulous execution bear witness to exceptional craftsmanship,' it said. It added that hieroglyphics on the sarcophagus made it possible to identify the former occupant as a man called Pa-di-Hor-pa-khered and that he was portrayed as having transformed into Osiris, god of the underworld.
Al Etihad
11-07-2025
- Al Etihad
Belgium returns 2,000-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt
12 July 2025 00:32 BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (AFP)Belgian authorities on Friday said they had handed over a roughly 2,000-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt, a decade after it was seized by police in said the artefact -- along with a piece of an ancient wooden beard -- was presented to the Egyptian ambassador at a ceremony in the Belgian capital."After 10 years of investigation and proceedings, it is a true act of justice to return to its country of origin an item that was misappropriated from its heritage," said Julien Moinil, the Brussels public artefacts were seized by Belgian police in 2015 after Interpol issued a notice following a request from a court in Egypt, prosecutors were housed in the meantime at the Royal Museum of Art and History in Brussels.A statement said that the wooden sarcophagus, which dates back to the Ptolemaic period between the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, "undoubtedly belonged to a member of Egyptian high society"."The choice of materials and the meticulous execution bear witness to exceptional craftsmanship," it said. It added that hieroglyphics on the sarcophagus made it possible to identify the former occupant as a man called Pa-di-Hor-pa-khered and that he was portrayed as having transformed into Osiris, god of the underworld.
South China Morning Post
06-02-2025
- South China Morning Post
1 injured in Brussels' third shooting in 24 hours
Published: 8:12pm, 6 Feb 2025 Belgian authorities said on Thursday one person was injured in a drug-related shooting in Brussels, close to where a similar incident a day earlier sparked a manhunt. Local officials told Belgian media that the latest shooting happened at around 3.30am near the Clemenceau metro station, leaving one person wounded in the leg. Two gunmen set off a manhunt near Clemenceau on Wednesday before after shooting off automatic rifles as early-morning commuters headed to work. Those suspects were still at large. A police van parked in front of Clemenceau metro station following a shooting in Anderlecht, Brussels, on February 6, 2025. Photo: AFP Brussels prosecutor Julien Moinil told local radio that the spate of shootings – with three overall in the city in 24 hours – appeared linked to turf wars between rival drug gangs.
