Crimean museums have started challenging the decision of Amsterdam’s Arbitration Court regarding the return of the Golden Island in the Black Sea collection (the so-called Scythian gold) to Ukraine, First Deputy Information Policy Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzheppar said.
“Our defendants received a notice from the bailiff that Crimean museums intend to file a counterclaim. Under the procedure they have several weeks to give us a piece of mind about the decision of the court. This actually means the start of appealing the decision of the arbitration court and the collection will remain in [Dutch] Allard Pierson Museum,” she wrote on her Facebook page on Jan. 17.
Four Crimean museums sent the Crimea – the Golden Island in the Black Sea exhibit to Bonn and then to Amsterdam in February 2014. Artifacts from a Kyiv museum were also included in the exhibit.
Because the Netherlands does not recognize the accession of the Crimean peninsula to Russia, the question arose as to who the collection should be returned to after the closure of the exhibit in August 2014.
The Russian Culture Ministry said in September 2014 that artifacts from the Kyiv museum had been returned to Ukraine and the artifacts from the Crimean museums remained in the Netherlands.
On Dec. 14, 2106, it was reported that the Amsterdam court had decided that the “Scythian gold” from the Crimean museums belongs to Ukraine and should be returned to Kyiv.
