Farhad Hakimzadeh defaced and stole precious books from the Bodleian and British Libraries. Picture courtesy of the Metropolitan Police
A former British Library reader who stole and defaced books at the British Library in London and the Bodleian Library in Oxford will be sentenced on January 16, 2009.
Farhad Hakimzadeh, of Rutland Gardens SW7 was found guilty of 10 thefts at Wood Green Crown Court on November 21.
The thefts were hard to detect and experts say that Hakimzadeh used considerable cunning to remove the plates, maps and pages from the books that dated back as far as the 1600’s.
“Theft from the British Library is an extremely rare occurrence. Because we are a research library, not a museum, we are committed to making our collections available in the interests of scholarship and research: to facilitate this an element of trust is necessary. Hakimzadeh fundamentally betrayed this trust,” said a spokesman for the Brirtish Library.
“The Library has been heartened by the generous cooperation it has received during this investigation from a number of institutions and from other libraries in this country and abroad.
“The successful prosecution of Hakimzadeh follows a thorough and detailed investigation by Library staff and the Metropolitan Police. This has led to the recovery of some of the items stolen by Hakimzadeh, and civil proceedings are now underway to recover further items and to seek financial compensation.”
