I must have missed this somehow, but back on February 21st, the Times posted some follow up on the "looted antiquities" trial I wrote about in this post. You can read the story here.
I also found an article from September that sets the background for the whole situation. An agreement was settled between the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Italian Culture Ministry to return a number of artifacts that were allegedly acquired illegally. Interestingly, "the agreement, some details of which were not made public, includes long-term loans to the Getty’s antiquities villa in Pacific Palisades, Calif., as well as collaboration on joint exhibitions, research, conservation and restoration projects."
The trial of two curators from the Getty began in 2005, but had slowed in the past few years. The defense for one of the curators seems to think that his client was used as a scapegoat to grease the wheels of this resolution.
According to the February 21st article, the next hearing was supposed to have been in mid-March. I'll do some poking around and see if I can find any updated information on the trial.
