June 7 (UPI) -- A British geologist jailed in Iraq for collecting artifacts during a trip said he is "shell shocked" over his sentence of 15 years in prison.
Jim Fitton, 66, was expecting a short suspended sentence in Baghdad Monday after he was charged with taking 12 stones and pieces of broken pottery from a site in southern Iraq during an organized tour, according to his family.
Fitton's son-in-law called the verdict "unjust" and said Fitton was found guilty under a 2002 law -- dating to Saddam Hussein's rule there -- that legal experts said should not have been applied in the case.
"It is just completely mind-blowing that this verdict could be passed when the judge himself accepted that Jim did not have any criminal intent," said Sam Tasker.
U.S. sues Islamic State to recover stolen Syrian antiquities