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The theft of the Villena Treasure triggers legal proceedings
The theft of the Villena Treasure, one of the most important Bronze Age gold collections in Europe, has entered a new legal phase. The Villena Court of First Instance, in Alicante, has opened preliminary proceedings to investigate potential liability arising from the theft against the town's mayor, Fulgencio Cerdán, a member of the Socialist Party; the director of the Villena Museum (MUVI), Laura Hernández; the third deputy mayor, María Server; and the person responsible for security at the museum.
The resolution, dated September 29 and issued by the Civil and Instruction Section of the Court of First Instance of Villena, responds to a complaint filed by the Association for the Defense of the Rule of Law and the Fight against Corruption (ADED), which points to a possible crime of damage by negligence related to the protection conditions of the municipal facilities in which the archaeological site was kept.
The judicial investigation does not, in itself, imply criminal liability for the individuals named in the complaint. The court order calls for the opening of proceedings to determine whether there was a possible lack of protection of the museum and whether this could have had consequences for the conservation and security of the heritage held there.
The complaint, filed by the law firm Soriano i Piqueras a few days after the theft, alleges that there may have been a failure in the security measures at the municipally owned museum and points to those responsible for its safekeeping and security. ADED believes the events could constitute damage caused by gross negligence, as defined in the crimes related to the protection of historical heritage.
The judge has also forwarded the proceedings to the Public Prosecutor's Office for its opinion on whether the case should be dismissed. The decision can be appealed to the same court within three days.
The case involves a fundamental piece of Spain's archaeological heritage. The Villena Treasure, discovered in 1963, comprises a collection of gold objects and other materials dating from the Bronze Age and is one of the most important prehistoric finds on the Iberian Peninsula. Its historical and archaeological value therefore transcends the local dimension of its custody and places any incident related to its conservation and security at the heart of the debate on the protection of cultural heritage.
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