Tourist facing prison for ‘stealing’ stones in Turkey
- 7 months ago
A Belgian tourist is facing time in prison after 'stealing' stones in Turkey.
Kim Mergits from Antwerp, Belgium has been accused of stealing archaeological artefacts after taking three stones during a day out in Manavgat, a town in the east of Antalya, Turkey.
The tourist - who was travelling with her partner Warre - was stopped at the airport, detained and now faces a heavy fine or potential prison sentence. Mergits reportedly took the three stones and packed them in her suitcase to take home, with the idea to put them in her aquarium.
After the stones were discovered in her possession and Mergits was detained at the airport, the three stones were sent off by the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism of Antalya for analysis at Antalya Museum, as per local media reports, quoted by The Brussels Times.
The museum's experts revealed two of the three stones were marble 'floor covering pieces' and the third stone 'with two stylised rosettes on it was an architectural decoration piece'.
Kim Mergits from Antwerp, Belgium has been accused of stealing archaeological artefacts after taking three stones during a day out in Manavgat, a town in the east of Antalya, Turkey.
The tourist - who was travelling with her partner Warre - was stopped at the airport, detained and now faces a heavy fine or potential prison sentence. Mergits reportedly took the three stones and packed them in her suitcase to take home, with the idea to put them in her aquarium.
After the stones were discovered in her possession and Mergits was detained at the airport, the three stones were sent off by the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism of Antalya for analysis at Antalya Museum, as per local media reports, quoted by The Brussels Times.
The museum's experts revealed two of the three stones were marble 'floor covering pieces' and the third stone 'with two stylised rosettes on it was an architectural decoration piece'.