Buddha statue dispute to be taken to Netherlands court

One of the lawyers representing a village in Fujian province in its quest to win custody of a 1,000-year-old Buddha statue they say was stolen in 1995 said an appeal would be submitted to a Dutch court later this month.

The statue contains the remains of a mummified monk.

"We have finished the primary investigation and collection of evidence in Yangchun, Fujian province, in preparation for an appeal to the court in the Netherlands later this month," said Liu Yang, a Beijing lawyer specializing in ancient relics.