APPEALS BEGIN IN MUNCH THEFTS CASE

An appeal of convictions and acquittals in the 2004 theft of the Edvard Munch masterpieces The Scream and Madonna opened in Oslo with the court rejecting defense demands for a postponement, reports the Associated Press. The paintings were recovered by police on August 31, just over two years after they were stolen by masked gunmen in a brazen daylight heist at Oslo’s Munch Museum. Both were damaged and are undergoing repairs. In May, the Oslo district court convicted three men of helping the armed robbers and sentenced them to prison terms of between four and eight years. Three others were acquitted. Both the defense and the prosecution appealed the rulings. The Borgarting appeals court is hearing all six cases in a trial expected to last six weeks.