Switzerland hands to Libya list of seized antiquities

The Swiss ambassador to Libya, Joseph Ringli, has surrendered to the Libyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs a list of items, including antiquities belonging the North African country, seized inside Switzerland, Libya Observer reports.

The announcement came in statements by the Director of the Antiquities Authority, Mohammed Faraj.

Faraj indicated that appointments had been set with the Libyan Embassy in the Swiss capital, Bern, to receive the antiquities in an official ceremony, in preparation for their transfer to Tripoli and their delivery to the Libyan Antiquities Authority. In August 2023, Libyan authorities recovered a large bronze wolf statue that once sat atop a pillar in central Benghazi. The wolf statue disappeared decades ago.

The relic was recently found on a farm. A tip led authorities to the colonial-era statue, Chinese media CGTN reported. In March 2023, authorities in Tripoli successfully recovered nine pieces of antiquities from the United States that were looted following the 2011 uprising that killed Muammar Gadhafi.