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| Man jailed over book page thefts | Man jailed over book page thefts |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A wealthy businessman who stole and defaced pages from priceless books in the British and Bodleian libraries has been jailed for two years. | A wealthy businessman who stole and defaced pages from priceless books in the British and Bodleian libraries has been jailed for two years. |
| Farhad Hakimzadeh, 60, of Knightsbridge in London, pleaded guilty in May to 14 counts of theft from the libraries in London and Oxford. | |
| Judge Peter Ader said the offences were "very serious" whether or not they were motivated by financial profit. | Judge Peter Ader said the offences were "very serious" whether or not they were motivated by financial profit. |
| He sentenced him at Wood Green Crown Court in North London. | He sentenced him at Wood Green Crown Court in North London. |
| Hakimzadeh cut leaves out of rare works and inserted the pages into his own copies of the same books, the court heard. | Hakimzadeh cut leaves out of rare works and inserted the pages into his own copies of the same books, the court heard. |
| 'Lost forever' | 'Lost forever' |
| Police found the altered editions along with several loose pages in the library at his home. You have a deep love of books, perhaps so deep that it goes to excess. I have no doubt that you were stealing in order to enhance your library and your collection Judge Peter Ader Thief who stole pages from history | Police found the altered editions along with several loose pages in the library at his home. You have a deep love of books, perhaps so deep that it goes to excess. I have no doubt that you were stealing in order to enhance your library and your collection Judge Peter Ader Thief who stole pages from history |
| The 10 British Library books he admitted damaging were valued at £71,000 alone. Experts say he had defaced a total of around 150 books. | The 10 British Library books he admitted damaging were valued at £71,000 alone. Experts say he had defaced a total of around 150 books. |
| A map worth £30,000 was cut out of one of the books. | A map worth £30,000 was cut out of one of the books. |
| British Library staff believe he smuggled a scalpel into the building and positioned himself away from security cameras to commit his crimes. | British Library staff believe he smuggled a scalpel into the building and positioned himself away from security cameras to commit his crimes. |
| The books dated from as far back as the 16th Century and all concerned European engagement with the Middle East. | The books dated from as far back as the 16th Century and all concerned European engagement with the Middle East. |
| Passing sentence, Judge Peter Ader said: "As an author, you cannot have been unaware of the damage you were causing. | Passing sentence, Judge Peter Ader said: "As an author, you cannot have been unaware of the damage you were causing. |
| "You have a deep love of books, perhaps so deep that it goes to excess. I have no doubt that you were stealing in order to enhance your library and your collection. | "You have a deep love of books, perhaps so deep that it goes to excess. I have no doubt that you were stealing in order to enhance your library and your collection. |
| "Whether it was for money or for a rather vain wish to improve your collection is perhaps no consolation to the losers." | "Whether it was for money or for a rather vain wish to improve your collection is perhaps no consolation to the losers." |
| Head of collections at the British Library Dr Kristian Jensen said: "Obviously I'm angry because this is somebody extremely rich who has damaged something which belongs to everybody... which this nation has invested in over generations." | Head of collections at the British Library Dr Kristian Jensen said: "Obviously I'm angry because this is somebody extremely rich who has damaged something which belongs to everybody... which this nation has invested in over generations." |
| Hakimzadeh is a wealthy businessman of Iranian origin - now a British national - who has published several books and is a director of the Iranian Heritage Foundation. | Hakimzadeh is a wealthy businessman of Iranian origin - now a British national - who has published several books and is a director of the Iranian Heritage Foundation. |
| Detective Chief Inspector Dave Cobb, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "He chose unique and rare editions and was therefore able to go undetected for some time. | Detective Chief Inspector Dave Cobb, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "He chose unique and rare editions and was therefore able to go undetected for some time. |
| "Some of the stolen pages were recovered at his home address but many more have been lost forever." | "Some of the stolen pages were recovered at his home address but many more have been lost forever." |
| The British Library has launched separate civil proceedings against Hakimzadeh. | The British Library has launched separate civil proceedings against Hakimzadeh. |
| An Oxford University spokesman said: "We are pleased the criminal case, on which we co-operated closely with the police, has been brought to a close." | An Oxford University spokesman said: "We are pleased the criminal case, on which we co-operated closely with the police, has been brought to a close." |