It was stolen decades ago.. Switzerland returns a piece of the statue of Ramses II to Egypt

Yesterday, the Swiss government announced the return to Egypt of part of the statue of Ramses II, which was confiscated in Geneva as part of a criminal case.

The Swiss government statement indicated that the director of the Federal Office of Culture, Karen Bachmann, handed over to the Egyptian embassy in Switzerland part of the statue of Ramses II that had been confiscated in Geneva in the framework of criminal procedures in municipalities.

The statement added that it was returned “according to the International Transfer of Cultural Property Law,” pointing out that the stone statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II is part of a group statue where the pharaoh sits next to various Egyptian deities, and this piece was stolen in the late eighties and early nineties from the Temple of Ramesses II in Abydos, Egypt, from where this part was transferred to Switzerland “through different countries”.

The Geneva municipal authorities confiscated the artifact in accordance with the Federal Law on the International Transfer of Cultural Property, and the statement added that his response with this piece “confirms the joint commitment of Switzerland and Egypt to combating illicit trafficking in cultural property, which is reinforced by the entry into force of the Bilateral Agreement on the Transfer and Return of Cultural Property in 2011.” .

It is noteworthy that Ramses II, who came to the throne, ruled Egypt at the age of twenty-five, succeeding his father, Seti I, for about 66 years, in the longest reign in Egyptian history. An exhibition dedicated to him is currently being held in Paris, which will last until the sixth of September.