A Painting Of Van Gogh Seized In Ankara

ANKARA - A painting of worldwide famous painter Vincent Van Gogh was seized in an operation in Ankara on Tuesday.
Acting on a tip-off, security forces raided an office in Cankaya district of Ankara, and captured a person, who was trying to sell the painting in return for 1 million U.S. dollars.
It was revealed that the suspect, who was identified as Omer E., had been working as a gynecologist in a hospital in Ankara.
In his interrogation, Omer E. said that he had bought the painting in southeastern province of Kahramanmaras.
Sources said that there were seals of the French Louvre Museum and the Emirate of Kuwait on the back side of the 81x79-centimetre painting of Arab women wearing headscarf.
Sources said that the painting was probably one of the paintings looted by Iraqi soldiers during invasion of Kuwait.
The painting will be handed over to the Ankara State Museum of Painting and Statue to determine whether it is false or not.
A full investigation is under way.
(UK-AÖ) 17.02.2004