Romanian Art Thieves Sentenced; Will Appeal

One of the two Romanians who was convicted Tuesday for his part in the robbery of the Rotterdam Kunsthal, is going to appeal his sentence, according to his lawyer, Vasii.Eugen Darie, who transported the stolen paintings, received the same sentence as main suspect Radu Dogaru, who was sentenced to six years and eight months unconditional.

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According to the lawyer Darie's role is significantly smaller than that of Dogaru and must be assessed differently. The lawyer realizes Darie is guilty of robbery either way, but he wants to try and convince the court that his client should get a lesser punishment.

Darie transported the stolen paintings from the Netherlands to Romania, ordered to do so by Dogaru . Eugen Darie always insisted in court he had no idea what he was moving.

Dogaru's lawyer was not yet available for comment. The public prosecutor in the Romanian capital would not yet respond.