TEHRAN -- Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) Director Esfandiar Rahim-Mashaii announced on Monday that an unknown person retrieved the stolen copy of “The Canon of Medicine.”

Iranian media outlets previously announced that the Hamedan police had recovered the book, which was written by Avicenna (980-1037), the Iranian physician and the most famous and influential of the philosopher-scientists of Islam.
A rare copy of “The Canon of Medicine,” which dates back 300 years, was stolen from a museum adjacent to Avicenna’s mausoleum in Hamedan.
“The book was stolen on May 14 and yesterday (May 24) a person called CHTHO and said that the book is now in its place,” Rahim-Mashaii told reporters during his visit on Monday to a calligraphy exhibition at the Golestan Palace in Tehran.
“The museum officials found it in-situ and intact when they returned to the place where it was kept,” he added.
“The caller is likely the person who robbed the book himself or stole it with the help of another person,” Rahim-Mashaii explained.
Two guards of the museum’s security command were present at the time of the robbery.
There is a fundamental contradiction between Rahim-Mashaii’s remarks and the reports previously published about the incident in the media.
Hamedan Cultural Heritage Guards commander General Abbas Nazari announced on Sunday that the Hamedan police got back “The Canon of Medicine.”
He also noted that a team of experts from the Hamedan Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Department (HCHTHD) verified the authenticity of the book at the police station.
Meanwhile, Hamedan Governor Ali-Akbar Famil-Karimi also confirmed the report on Sunday and said that more details will soon be announced in a press conference.
The robbery was announced last week by a journalist during a press conference attended by HCHTHD Director Asadollah Bayat.
Bayat unavoidably was compelled to confirm the story after he was asked about the accuracy of the report.
Thus, due to the contradictory remarks and the disinclination of the CHTHO to give more details about the accident, it seems that there may be some hanky-panky going on.
Photo: The statue of Avicenna in front of his tomb in Hamedan