Appeals court convicts 3 in theft of Munch paintings

An Oslo appeals courthas upheld the convictions of two men involved in the 2004 theft of the Edvard Munch paintings The Scream and Madonna.

It added a third conviction, of Stian Skjold, 30, who had originally been acquitted by a lower court.

The convictions of Petter Tharaldsen, 34, and Bjoern Hoen, 38, for grand theft were upheld.

But it reversed a lower court conviction of another man who had been accusedin the heist.

The two paintings were stolen bymasked gunmen in a daring daytime raid in full view of gallery staff and visitors. Three masked men rushed in and snatched them off the wall of the Munch Museum in Oslo.

A 10-member jury deliberated for eight hours on Friday before handing down three convictions and three acquittals.

Both the defence and the prosecution had appealed rulings from the lower court.

Lawyers in the case have not yet said if the current convictions will be appealed to a higher court.

The Scream and Madonna were recovered by policein August, but police have never said what led them to the paintings after two years of searching.

The paintings were damaged and are undergoing extensive repair at the Munch Museum.

The Scream, the Norwegian painter's most famous work, shows a figure covering his or her ears in anguish, mouth open as if screaming. Madonna is a figure of a woman.

Munch, a pioneer of the early 20th century expressionist movement, made four versions of The Scream, and this is the second time the painting has been stolen.