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Greece decides against legal action to reclaim Parthenon sculptures

Aimee Dawson and Javier Pes
1 January 2016
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Greece’s culture minister, Aristidis Baltas, confirmed in December that the Greek government has decided not to build a legal case for the return of sculptures from the Parthenon in the British Museum. Baltas told a committee of the Greek parliament on 8 December that “if we lose [litigation] things will get tough”, Greek media reports. In 2014, a legal team from London-based Doughty Street Chambers, which included Amal Clooney, made a high-profile visit to Athens. A spokeswoman for the law firm says its “involvement in the matter ended” last summer after it delivered its recommendations to the former Greek government. She declined, on grounds of client confidentially, to disclose its legal advice. The culture ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

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