In Britain, acquitted the defendants of extortion for the return of da Vinci paintings

[Евгений]

British court acquitted five accused of trying to extort 4,250,000 pounds (6,500,000 dollars) for the return of a stolen masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci from its owner, a Scottish duke.
 The High Court in Edinburgh acquitted for lack of proof of guilt of three of them - a lawyer Ronald Marshall and two private detectives - Robert Graham and John Doyle. Two other defendants - lawyers Kelam Jones and David Boyce - acquitted for lack of evidence.

Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna with the spindle, was abducted in August 2003 from Drumlanrig Castle in Scotland, Dumfries And Galloway, belonged to the Duc Beklisham, the largest private landowners Britain.
The castle was a private tour. Two robbers were disguised as tourists, during the inspection of a collection of works of art twisted guide, stole paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and fled in a car.
"Madonna with the spindle is one of only two dozen surviving paintings by the great artist. It was included in the FBI list of the ten most valuable works of art, still at large in the world.
The cost of the painting is estimated at 20 million pounds (about $ 30 million). For her discovery was appointed a major prize.
In 2007, unknown assailants approached the Scottish private detective, Robert Graham and John Doyle, who created a website, whose goal was the discovery of stolen items. Anonymous promised to return the painting by Leonardo in exchange for a ransom.

Читать дальше... 

Detectives appealed to the three lawyers for advice on how to carry out this operation by lawful means. Attorney Ronald Marshall acted as a mediator.
As the owner of the picture, John Scott, Duke Beklish already died, Ronald turned to his son Richard, as well as representatives of the company, which was insured painting.
Ronald, Graham and Doyle held talks with the representative of the kidnappers. According to them, the offender was associated with members of the now officially disbanded terrorist organization the Irish Republican Army.
Return paintings intermediaries on behalf of the criminals asked for 4.25 million pounds. The insurer appealed to the police.
As a result of a police operation in October 2007, the painting was discovered in the office of a law firm in Glasgow.

Five mediators involved in the negotiations, were charged with blackmail. The accusation of complicity in the theft of them are not established.
Lawyers for the defendants stated that they pursued good cause - the return of stolen property. In addition, they found a picture of what did not the police.

After the jury acquitted, they said they would demand the promised reward from the owner of the painting and the insurer.
Da Vinci wrote a "Madonna with the spindle, between 1500 and 1520. The painting was intended for the Secretary of State King of France. On the canvas depicts Jesus holding a Virgin with a little spinning wheel in the form of a cross.