Prosecutors have announced that an order issued last week to seize an ancient Greek statue for years disputed by Italy and the Getty Museum in Malibu is "immediately executive". "The Lysippus statue must return to Italy," prosecutors told ANSA on Thursday, accompanied by Tristano Tonnini, the lawyer for the association "Cento Città", which has been fighting the legal battle for 11 years. "We expect politicians to play their part," they said.

The Italian judge rejected an appeal by the Getty Museum, ruling that the fourth-century BC Greek statue - known as Lysippus after its creator and fished out of the sea off Pesaro in 1964 - must be seized wherever in the world it is. Commonly referred to as the Getty Bronze and formally named Statue of a Victorious Youth, the statue is one of the best-known works in the Los Angeles-based museum.