Türkiye repatriates looted statue of Roman emperor from U.S.

ANKARA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye has successfully repatriated a statue of Roman Emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius, 65 years after it was smuggled out of the country, Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said Saturday.

"It was a long struggle ... a concrete result of our years-long pursuit of justice," Ersoy said on social media platform X, calling it a "historic achievement" made possible through the combined efforts of diplomacy, law and science.

He added the ancient statue will soon be unveiled to the public in Ankara in a special exhibition.

The statue, originally looted from the ancient city of Boubon in southwestern Türkiye during the 1960s, had been on display in the United States for decades. The recovery was carried out in close cooperation with the New York Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the minister said.

The return is part of Türkiye's broader effort to reclaim its cultural heritage. Ersoy said 8,967 historical artifacts have been repatriated in the past seven years. Enditem