- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
- Lindor powers Mets past Phillies into NL Championship Series
- Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970: WWF
- 'Sleeper agent' bots on X fuel US election misinformation, study says
- Death toll rises to 109 after Haiti gang attack, official says
- Tigers beat Guardians and on brink of advancing in MLB playoffs
- Argentina MPs back Milei's veto of university funding
- Man City sink Barca in Women's Champions League as Bayern outgun Arsenal
- Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool: state agency
- Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears
- Pharrell Williams to co-chair Met Gala exploring Black dandyism
- Wall Street indices hit fresh records as Chinese shares tumble
- Taiwan's president to deliver key speech for National Day
- Sea row on the menu as ASEAN leaders meet China's Li
- Injured Kane won't start England's Nations League clash with Greece
- Discord seen as online home for renegades
- US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
- Mozambique starts tallying votes in tense election
- Zelensky moves to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Ratan Tata: Indian mogul who built a global powerhouse
- Rodgers rejects 'false' suggestions of role in Saleh dismissal
- One dead as storm Kirk tears through Spain, Portugal, France
- Indian business titan Ratan Tata dead at 86
- Lebanon facing 'catastrophic' situation as 600,000 displaced: UN
- US warns Israel not to repeat Gaza destruction in Lebanon
- Musk's X returns in Brazil after 40-day showdown with judge
- Call her savvy? Harris unleashes unconventional media blitz
- Lucian Freud 'masterpiece' fetches £13.9 million at London sale
- SoFi Stadium to hold next two CONCACAF Nations League finals
- McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- Fed minutes highlight divisions over rate cut decision
- Steve McQueen debuts new WWII film at London festival
- Run blitz edges India and South Africa closer to World Cup semi-finals
- Zelensky to court European leaders in drive for military aid
- Israel captain says 'difficult' to focus on football in time of war
- Macron to host Ukraine's Zelensky after meeting Ukrainian troops
- Root says 'many more to get' after England Test runs landmark
- India pile up World Cup high to rout Sri Lanka
- One year later, Israeli hostage family learns of loss
- Texans receiver Collins, Pats' safety Peppers out for NFL clash
- Biden-Netanyahu talk as Hezbollah, Israeli forces clash
- Musk's X available again in Brazil after 40-day ban
- Reddy stars as India crush Bangladesh to clinch T20 series
- Nobel winners hope protein work will spur 'incredible' breakthroughs
- What are proteins again? Nobel-winning chemistry explained
- Arch rivals Ghana, Nigeria drawn together in CHAN qualifying
- AI steps into science limelight with Nobel wins
- Trump lauds India's Modi as 'total killer'
German court jails five over spectacular museum heist
A German court on Tuesday sentenced five gang members to up to six years in prison for snatching priceless 18th-century jewels from a Dresden museum in what media have dubbed the biggest art heist in modern history.
The thieves made off with a haul worth more than 113 million euros ($123 million) from the Green Vault museum in 2019. Some, but not all, of the loot was recovered in exchange for four of the defendants confessing in court.
The convicted men are members of the largely Berlin-based "Remmo clan", an extended family known for a web of ties to organised crime in Germany.
The court in the eastern city handed down three sentences ranging from just under to just over six years for armed robbery, aggravated arson and grievous bodily harm for the November 25, 2019 heist.
Two of the men, who were minors at the time of the crime, received juvenile sentences of five years and four years and four months respectively.
A sixth defendant was acquitted because he produced a credible alibi -- an emergency surgery at a Berlin hospital.
The plea deal came in for criticism, however, with Berlin prosecutors' association president Ralph Knispel noting the defendants had not been required to reveal their accomplices in exchange for lighter sentences.
"The question is what message that sends" to other criminals, Knispel told public broadcaster RBB.
- 'Remarkable criminal drive' -
The trial, which began in January 2022, shed some light on the spectacular heist but left key questions unanswered.
Although many of the historic pieces were recovered, some are feared lost forever in what prosecutors called an act of "remarkable criminal drive and recklessness" by the thieves.
The loot included a sword with a diamond-encrusted hilt and a shoulder piece which contained a 49-carat Dresden white diamond.
Prosecutor Christian Weber said on the opening day of the trial that the defendants had stolen "unique and irreplaceable treasures... of outstanding cultural and historical significance".
Two of the defendants, Wissam and Mohamed Remmo, were already serving time for the daring 2017 theft of a massive gold coin from a Berlin museum.
In a statement read in court in January by their lawyer, they said the idea for the Dresden job was hatched after a younger acquaintance "came back from a field trip to the Green Vault... raving about the green diamonds on display there".
The court found that the defendants, aged between 24 and 29, slipped into the museum through previously damaged bars on a window, broke a display case with an axe and grabbed 21 pieces decorated with 4,300 jewels in less than five minutes.
The thieves were able to escape in a getaway car that they later set ablaze in an underground car park.
For months after the crime, authorities thought the haul was lost for good, with detectives scouring Europe's shadowy stolen goods markets for signs of the Saxon royal artefacts.
- 40 suspects still wanted -
That was until December 2022, when authorities said they had recovered a "considerable portion" of the items following "exploratory talks" with the suspects.
Many of the pieces were badly damaged and some are still missing, however, including a brooch that belonged to Queen Amalie Auguste of Saxony.
In January, four of the defendants confessed, leading to the deal for lighter sentences.
A fifth said he stole tools to penetrate the building but denied taking part in the heist itself.
About 40 people believed to have been involved in planning the heist are still wanted.
The trial revealed grave security failings at the Green Vault, a state institution. Its director, Marius Winzeler, has said he is "optimistic" that the remaining missing pieces will one day return to Dresden, given they "cannot be legally sold".
Founded by Augustus, Elector of Saxony, in 1723, the Green Vault is one of Europe's oldest museums.
After the Royal Palace suffered severe damage in World War II, the museum remained closed for decades before it was restored and reopened in 2006 as a major tourist draw.
F.Dubois--AMWN